m  MEMOMAM 
Mrs.  Mabel  F.   Edwards. 
1880-1952. 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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Essentials  of  Americanization 


ESSENTIALS  OF 
AMERICANIZATION 


BY 


EMORY  S.  |BOGARDUS,  PH.D. 

PROFESSOR  AND  HEAD  OF  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOCIOLOGY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 

AUTHOR  OF  Introduction  to  Sociology  and 
Essentials  of  Social  Psychology 


REVISED  EDITION 


1920 

JESSE  RAY  MILLER 

University  of  Southern  California  Press 

LOS  ANGELES 


Copyright  1919 
University  of  Southern  California  Press 

Copyright  1920 
University  of  Southern  California  Press 


1S^  .FA 


frf 


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First  Edition  Published  July  1,  1919 
Second,  Revised  Edition,  Published  Dec.   1,  1920 


DEDICATED  TO 
RUTH  MILDRED  BOGARDUS 


M781300 


CONTENTS 


I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 
V. 


VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 


XI. 

XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 
XVI. 


XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 


PART  ONE. 

Americanization  and  American  Ideals 

The  Scope  of  Americanization    .  .13 

American  Ideals:  Liberty  and  Initiative  41 

American  Ideals:  Union  and  Co-operation  SO 

American  Ideals:  Democracy  and  Justice  .50 

American  Ideals:  Internationalism  and  Brotherhood     70 

PART  TWO 

The  Native-Born  and  American  Ideals 

A  Racial  History  of  the  United  States  79 

The  Average  American 90 

The  Indian            109 

The  Negro 120 

The  Mountaineer 138 

PART  THREE 
The  Foreign-Born  and  American  Ideals 


The  North  European  Immigrant 
The  South  European  Immigrant 
The  Slavic  Immigrant 
The  Hebrew  Immigrant 
The  Asiatic  Immigrant 
The  Mexican  Immigrant 


PART  FOUR 

Methods  of  Americanization 

Industrial  Phases  of  Americanization 
Social  Phases   of   Americanization 
Racial  Phases  of  Americanization 
Political  Phases  of  Americanization 
Educational  Phases  of  Americanization    . 

APPENDIXES 

Brief  Original  Statements  of  American  Ideals 

Selected    Readings 

Index      


148 
165 
175 
191 
201 
217 


223 
244 
260 
267 
278 


299 
339 
362 


PREFACE  TO  FIRST  EDITION 


To  Help  Win  the  War  for  Democracy  is  the  main 
purpose  of  this  book.  The  overthrowing  of  the 
Prussian  autocracy  was  one  vital  phase  of  the  struggle 
for  democratic  prin-ciples.  The  perfecting  of  our 
American  democracy  is  another  important  aspect  of 
this  world-wide  problem.  That  this  volume  will  assist 
the  cause  of  democracy,  in  some  small  way,  is  the 
hope  of  the  author. 

The  Federal  Government  has  directed  our  attention 
officially  to  the  subject  of  Americanization.  Through 
the  recently  inaugurated  Americanization  activities  of 
the  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Bureau  of  Immigration, 
and  the  Bureau  of  Naturalization,  the  entire  country 
is  being  organized  for  that  work.  To  aid  in  this 
splendid  undertaking  is  the  second  aim  of  the  writer. 

There  are  many  private  and  semi-public  organiza- 
tions which  are  carrying  on  unrelated  plans  of  assimi- 
lation. In  the  activities  of  some  of  these  organizations, 
Americanization  is  receiving  a  narrow-minded  and 
autocratic  expression.  It  will  fail  wherever  it  denies 
the  validity  of  comprehensive  and  fundamental  prin- 
ciples. We  dare  not  base  it  chiefly  on  compulsion. 
We  must  make  it  attractive  and  magnetic  and  just. 
To  help  meet  this  need  is  the  third  leading  purpose 
which  has  caused  the  writing  of  this  treatise. 

This  volume  is  based  on  the  experiences  of  the 
writer  in  living  in  Chicago  at  Northwestern  University 


lo  Americanization 

Settlement,  which  is  surrounded  by  thousands  of  rep- 
resentatives of  thirty  leading  races  from  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  where  the  writer  began  in  1908  to  teach 
the  English  language  and  American  principles  to  the 
foreign-born.  This  treatise  is  an  outgrowth  of  sub- 
sequent immigration  investigations,  which  included 
studies  of  living  conditions  and  of  social  attitudes.  It 
is  a  result  of  teaching  the  subject  of  ''Americanization 
and  Immigration"  to  university  students  regularly 
since  1912. 


E.  S.  B. 


University  of  Southern  California. 
FSruary  21,  19 19. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 

In  this  edition  several  minor  alterations  have  been 
made.  In  re-writing  the  chapters,  paragraphs  have 
been  added  here  and  there  in  order  to  give  a  fuller  and 
more  balanced  treatment  of  the  subject  matter.  ,  In 
Part  One  there  is  a  slight  change  in  the  statement  of 
American  ideals. 

The  most  important  additions  will  be  found  in  Part 
Four.  The  analysis  of  "Methods  of  Americanization" 
has  been  made  in  this  edition  on  the  basis  of  what 
needs  to  be  done.  There  are  large  numbers  of  persons 
and  organizations  which  have  been  ready  to  do  Amer- 
icanization work  but  they  have  not  known  how  to  go 
about  the  task  or  just  what  to  do.  Part  Four  indicates 
a  procedure  to  be  followed.  The  technique  of  Ameri- 
canization is  presented  from  several  standpoints:  In- 
dustrial, social,  racial,  political,  and  educational.  It 
is  hoped  that  the  value  of  this  book  will  be  enhanced 
by  the  general  plan  of  combining  statements  of  Amer- 
ican, ideals  and  of  immigrant  backgrounds,  traditions, 
and  ideals  with  a  presentation  of  the  technique  of  the 
Americanization  process. 

The  "problems"  have  been  increased  in  number  and 
placed  at  the  close  of  the  respective  chapters.  They 
will  furnish  a  specific  opportunity  for  the  reader  to 
supplement  the  thought  of  the  chapters  by  his  own 
original  thinking. 

Emory  S.  Bogardus. 

University  of  Southern  California. 
July  I,  1920. 


ESSENTIALS  OF  AMERICANIZATION 

PART  ONE 

AMERICANIZATION  AND  AMERICAN 
IDEALS 

Chapter  I 
THE  SCOPE  OF  AMERICANIZATION 


Americanization  is  a  process.  It  is  not  a  big  stick ; 
neither  is  it  a  laissez  faire  policy.  Americanization  is 
an  educational  process  of  unifying  both  the  native- 
born  and  foreign-born  in  the  United  States  in  perfect 
support  of  American  principles.  It  selects  and  pre- 
serves the  best  qualities  in  our  past  and  present  Amer- 
icanism; and  at  the  same  time  it  singles  out  and  fosters 
such  traits  of  the  foreign-born  as  will  contribute  to 
the  development  of  democracy  among  our  entire  pop- 
ulation. 

The  native-born  and  the  foreign-born  alike  must 
experience  the  process  of  Americanization.  In  the  case 
of  natives,  Americanization  involves  getting  acquainted 
with  the  best  American  traditions  and  current  stand- 
ards, and  practicing  and  trying  to  improve  the  quality 
of  these  traditions  and  standards.  In  the  case  of  the 
foreign-born,  Americanization  means  giving  up  one  set 


T4  Americanization 

of  well-known  and,  in  part,  precious  loyalties  for  an- 
other set  of  loyalties,  more  or  less  new  and  unknown. 
To  renounce  one  group  of  loyalties  for  another  group 
involves  a  deep-seated  and  delicate  re-adjustment  of 
mental  and  social  attitudes. 

In  the  process  of  becoming  loyal  to  American  ideals 
the  native-born  possess  a  strong  advantage  over 
the  foreign-born.  At  the  end  of  twenty-one  years 
the  native  is  declared  to  have  reached  the  goal  of  polit- 
ical suffrage;  the  immigrant  is  expected  to  achieve 
this  goal  in  five  years.  The  native  has  the  social  ad- 
vantage of  being  born  into  an  American  environment ; 
the  immigrant,  the  social  disadvantage  of  having  to 
break  with  habits  and  customs  arising  out  of  sacred, 
but  from  the  standpoint  of  the  United  States,  alien 
associations.  The  native  in  the  years  of  youth  and 
leisure  is  surrounded  in  the  home,  school,  and  church 
by  American  teachings ;  the  immigrant  is  obliged  often- 
times to  learn  a  new  language  and  new  customs  in  the 
mature  years  of  life,  handicapped  by  long  hours  of 
routine  labor,  and  despite  little  positive  encouragement 
and  sympathetic  help. 

'  The  Americanization  movement  had  its  primary,  or 
immediate,  origin  in  1914  when  the  World  War  broke 
out  and  a  renaissance  of  nationalism  occurred  through- 
out the  civilized  world.'  When  the  United  States  en- 
tered the  World  War',  she  discovered  that  large  num- 
bers of  her  immigrant  population  had  not  become 
assimilated,  and  that  even  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
people  had  lived  within  her  boundaries  for  years  with- 
out learning  the  language  of  the  land.) 

The  Americanization  movement  had  its  secondary 


Scope  of  AmericanizaHon  15 

origin  in  the  positive  assimilation  activities  which  be- 
gan to  assume  form  about  1910.  In  the  preceding 
year  The  Melting  Pot  had  been  published.  In  this 
splendid  drama,  Israel  Zangwill  had  described  the 
United  States  as  a  gigantic  melting  pot  wherein  the 
traditions  and  ideals  of  all  races  were  being  melted 
into  one  set  of  principles,  namely,  Americanism.  For 
decades,  settlement  workers  and  public  school  teachers 
in  immigrant  districts  had  been^  making  valiant  con- 
tributions to  the  melting  pot,  or  assimilation,  process. 
The  quiet  influence  of  environmental  forces  had  also 
been  furthering  assimilation.  But  in  spite  of  much 
that  was  being  done  the  assimilation  tendencies  were 
being  defeated  in  the  immigrant  districts  of  large  cities 
and  of  isolated  rural  localities.  In  consequence,  thous- 
ands of  immigrants  were  crowding  annually  into  the 
already  over-crowded  and  distinctly  foreign  quarters 
of  the  metropolitan  centers.  Under  these  conditions, 
there  were  few  wholesome  contacts  between  natives  and 
immigrants,  and  assimilation  became  almost  nil.  Nev- 
ertheless, the  concept  of  assimilation  furnished  a  whole- 
some and  dynamic  background  for  Americanization. 

The  Americanization  movement  had  its  tertiary,  or 
basic,  origin  in  the  naturalization  concept.  In  1790, 
our  government  set  forth  certain  standards  to  which 
an  immigrant  must  attain  before  he  can  become  a 
naturalized  citizen.  These  standards  were  later  mod- 
ified, but  in  general  they  included  a  residence  of  five 
years  within  the  country,  a  certain  acquaintance  with 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  related  polit- 
ical data,  the  renouncing  of  allegiance  to  the  given 
foreign  country,  the  declaration  of  allegiance  to  the 


1 6  A  mericanization 

United  States,  and  the  establishment  by  witnesses  of 
the  possession  of  a  worthy  personal  character.  These 
requirements,  unfortunately,  developed  in  certain  quar- 
ters a  legalistic,  or  formal  meaning. 

It  was  assumed  that  the  immigrant  would  want  to 
become  a  citizen  and  would  strive  in  every  possible 
way  to  meet  the  real  content  of  naturalization.  But 
this  assumption  has  often  proved  erroneous.  Immi- 
grants have  frequently  been  herded  together  and  natur- 
alized en  masse  by  designing  but  unpatriotic  politi- 
cians. Well-meaning  immigrants  have  often  found  no 
sympathy  or  aid  in  their  many  struggles  to  understand 
correctly  our  American  government  and  principles. 
They  have  sometimes  come  to  the  conclusion  that  na- 
tive Americans  are  not  interested  in  their  welfare,  either 
individually  or  socially.  They  have  often  sought  merely 
to  memorize  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
other  political  facts.  They  have  "crammed"  in  order 
to  pass  the  naturalization  test  before  the  court.  They 
have  secured  the  form  rather  than  the  real,  throbbing 
content  of  Americanism.  Despite  these  untoward  ten- 
dencies, naturalization  has  within  recent  years  taken 
on  increasingly  a  human  content  and  has  served  a 
basic  purpose  in  the  Americanization  process. 

Americanization,  thus,  had  its  beginning  in  1790  in 
naturalization.  It  received  added  life  through  the  em- 
phasis on  assimilation  which  has  developed  in  our  own 
day.  And  now  Americanization  is  acquiring  a  wortliy 
and  distinct  momentum  of  its  owm. 

The  Americanization  movement,  however,  has  not 
gone  forward  satisfactorily.  A  lack  of  understand- 
ing and  of  interest  has  blocked  the  highways  of  action, 


Scope  of  Americanization  17 

Pseudo-patriotic  utterances  have  prevented  clear  think- 
ing upon  the  subject.  The  facetious  statement  that 
there  are  ''fifty-seven  varieties"  of  Americanism  is 
not  altogether  groundless.  Since  the  United  States 
declared  war  in  19 17,  some  of  these  elements  of  Amer- 
icanism have  disappeared,  a  few  of  the  elements  have 
united  into  ugly  conglomerates,  while  others  have  ex- 
hibited the  character  of  solid  ores  bearing  pure  Amer- 
ican qualities. 

Americanization  is  being  defined  in  certain  places 
with  total  disregard  of  its  true  foundations,  the  prin- 
ciples of  genuine  Americanism,  and  without  realization 
that  it  is  not  to  be  confined  to  European  immigrants 
alone.  Historic  slogans  and  shibboleths  are  uttered 
glibly  or  hurled  with  fervor  upon  -crowds  whose  feel- 
ings are  likely  to  explode  more  or  less  automatically 
in  vehement  applause.  Basic,  rational  principles  of 
American  progress  are  often  ignored.  Moreover, 
myopically  to  Americanize  the  immigrant  from  Europe 
and  to  feel  thereby  that  the  heights  and  breadths  of 
Americanization  have  been  reached  reveals  a  pitifully 
small  concept  of  the  theme. 

The  following  definitions  of  Americanization  dis- 
close an  inadequate  conception  of  our  subject. 

(a)  Americanization  is  teaching  foreigners  to  be 
satisfied  with  their  jobs. 

(b)  Americanization  is  the  suppression  by  vigorous 
means  of  all  radical  elements  in  our  country. 

(c)  Americanization  is  the  reducing  of  the  foreign- 
born  to  a  uniformity  of  opinions  and  beliefs  in 
harmony  with  Americanism. 


iS  Ainericafmation 

(d)  Americanization  means  teaching-  English  and 
civics  to  foreigners  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
secure  naturalization  papers. 

(e)  Americanization  is  a  paternalistic  program  for 
helping  ignorant  foreigners  by  utilizing  the 
superior  ability  of  the  native-born. 

Commendable  interpretations  of  Americanization  are 
given  herewith : 

(a)  Americanization  is  an  entering  into  the  spirit 
of  our  country. 

(b)  Americanization  is  the  process  of  nation-build- 
ing in  the  United  States. 

(c)  Americanizartion  teaches  the  duty  of  the  host, 
not  less  than  the  duty  of  the  newcomer. 

(d)  Americanization  is  an  organization  of  the  peo- 
ple for  a  greater  share  in  the  government. 

(e)  Americanization  means  helping  the  foreigner 
to  acquire  an  American  standard  of  living  and 
an  American  loyalty. 

(f)  Americanization  means  giving  the  immigrant 
the  best  America  has  to  offer  and  retaining  for 
Americans  the  best  in  the  immigrant. 

(g)  Americanization  is  that  branch  of  social  science 
dealing  with  the  assimilation  and  amalgamation 
of  diverse  races  in  equity  as  an  integral  part  of 
American  national  life. 

(h)  Americanization  is  the  uniting  of  new  and  na- 
tive-born Americans  in  fuller  common  under- 
standing and  appreciation  to  secure  by  means 
of  self-government  the  highest  welfare  of  all. 


Scope  of  Americanization  19 

(i)  Americanization  means  to  ''form  a  more  per- 
fect Union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defense, 
promote  the  general  welfare  and  secure  the 
blessings  of  Liberty." 

Americanization  must  begin  at  home.  The  native 
citizen  of  the  United  States  must  enter  upon  a  new 
understanding  of  the  principles  of  Americanism.  He 
must  sincerely  and  whole-heartedly  accept  the  tasks 
of  translating  these  standards  into  mutually  advan- 
tageous actions  and  into  helpful  attitudes  toward  the 
strangers  within  our  gates.  The  alien  cannot  be  com- 
pelled to  love  America;  only  love  begets  love.  The 
practice  for  decades  of  calling  the  immigrant  "names," 
of  applying  unpleasant  epithets  to  races^,  of  looking 
askance  at  the  Slav  as  a  Hunkie,  at  the  Jew  as  a  Sheeny, 
at  the  Italian  as  a  Dago,  cannot  be  overcome  by  mere 
changes  in  phrasing.  The  rectification  of  the  wrongs 
that  have  been  done  and  the  alleviation  of  the  dis- 
agreeable and  antagonistic  feelings  that  have  been 
aroused  can  be  accomplished  only  through  the  mani- 
festation of  kindly  attitudes  and  the  spirit  of  .love. 

Through  constructive  attitudes  toward  and  dealings 
with  the  immigrant,  the  average  American  can  do  more 
in  the  promotion  of  Americanization  than  by  any  other 
method.  By  relieving  the  immigrants  from  contact  with 
diseases  caused  by  unsanitary  housing,  from  suffering 
due  to  malnutrition,  from  the  hopeless  combat  with  the 
cost  of  living,  from  the  withering  glance  of  race  preju- 
dice or  class  scorn  we  can  best  advance  the  cause  of 
American  democracy.  We  must  no  longer  be  content 


20  Americanization 

to  sing  national  songs  imperfectly  remembered.  We 
must  become  clear-headed,  socialized  personifications 
of  the  noblest  phases  of  Americanism.  A  program 
for  educating  the  foreign-born  in  terms  of  unselfish 
national  loyalty  must  begin  with  the  native-born.  Na- 
tive Americans  must  set  the  highest  examples  of  unsel- 
fish public  service.  They  must  lead  the  way  by  first 
inaugurating,  in  the  words  of  Woodrow  Wilson,  "a 
process  of  self-examination,  a  process  of  purification, 
a  process  of  re-dedication."  They  must  renounce  any 
remaining  forms  of  ego-centric  doctrines,  such  as,  pri- 
vate property  before  public  welfare,  or  economic  profits 
at  any  human  cost. 

Americanization  begins  with  an  examination  of 
American  traits  and  ends  with  the  perfecting  of  an 
assimilation  movement  that  includes  young  and  old; 
white,  yellow,  red,  and  black ;  native-born  and  foreign- 
born.  We  may  consider  the  Mayflower  Compact  as 
the  initial  statement  of  Americanism,  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  Washington's  addresses,  and  Lin- 
coln's speeches  as  illustrations  of  intermediary  transi- 
tions, and  Theodore  Roosevelt's  and  Woodrow  Wil- 
son's recent  addresses  as  modern  revisions.  But  Amer- 
icanism is  even  more  a  matter  of  the  present  than  of 
the  past,  and  of  the  future  than  of  the  present,  (it  has 
four  fundamental  sets  of  characteristics:  liberty  and 
initiative,  union  and  co-operation,  democracy  and  jus- 
tice, internationalism  and  brotherhood.) 

Our  national  purposes  must  be  clearly  stated,  taught 
to  our  people,  and  accepted  throughout  the  land.  In 
taking  the  far-reaching  step  of  making  our  nation  telic, 
of  declaring  definite  national  aims,  and  of  projecting 


Scope  of  Aniericanizatiofi  21 

our  future  purposes,  we  must  make  choices  in  harmony 
with  world  welfare.  It  will  be  necessary  continually  to 
shun  the  paths  which  lead  to  the  broad,  spectacular  road 
of  autocracy,  imperialism,  ambition  for  world  domina- 
tion, injustice  in  dealing  with  weak  nations,  classes,  or 
persons.  It  will  be  a  continual  struggle  to  maintain 
ourselves  upon  the  narrow,  rugged  road  of  national 
self-abnegation,  of  justice  to  weak  and  strong  alike,  of 
championing  the  needs  of  mankind,  of  helping  to  or- 
ganize the  friendship  of  the  world. 

The  first  group  to  respond  to  Americanization,  then, 
must  be  native-born  Americans.  With  American  prin- 
ciples understood  by  all  native  Americans,  and  stated 
in  terms  ranging  from  personal  to  world-wide  democ- 
racy, Americanization  can  go  forward.  When  war 
was  declared  between  the  United  States  and  Germany, 
there  were  Americans  of  native  birth  who  acted  as 
though  they  were  thinking  of  the  impending  conflict 
in  terms  of  individual  gain  and  were  asking  themselves 
the  question,  not  "How  can  I  serve  my  nation  most 
unselfishly?"  but  **What  is  there  in  it  for  me?"  There 
were  persons  who  looked  upon  the  manufacturing  of 
munitions  of  war,  the  building  of  ships  and  aircraft 
as  so  many  opportunities  for  piling  up  profits.  There 
were  other  persons  who  thought  of  strikes,  sabotage, 
direct  action  in  stopping  war  manufacturing  as  emer- 
gency opportunities  for  demanding  higher  wages. 

A  second,  small  but  important  group  which  must  be 
included  in  our  program  of  Americanization  is  that 
composed  of  the  original  Americans  —  the  Indians. 
Numbering  about  300,000,  they  have  become  a  broken, 
dispirited,  and  defeated  people;  they  are  not  an  inte- 


♦ 
22  Atnericanizatioti 

gral  part  of  our  present-day  American  life.  Their  best 
qualities  have  not  been  utilized  in  the  making  of  Amer- 
ica. But  they  have  many  qualities  to  offer  that  we 
need  in  the  building  of  a  strong  American  type. 

A  third  group  of  native  Americans,  large  and  por- 
tentous, comprising  more  than  i2,o(X>,ooo  colored  folk, 
must  have  a  place  in  our  Americanization  activities. 
Although  the  Negroes  are  native-born,  speak  the  Eng- 
lish language,  and  have  adopted  the  rudimentary  cul- 
tural standards  of  the  white  people,  they  have  lived 
long  in  the  land  without  adequate  economic  and  educa- 
tional opportunities,  and  they  have  not  reached  a  level 
where  they  fully  understand  and  appreciate  Ameri- 
canism. They  have  been  the  victims  of  such  an  ex- 
tensive segregation  movement,  following  the  days  of 
slavery  and  reconstruction,  that  a  startling  degree  of 
stupid  misunderstanding  and  blind  race  prejudice  has 
been  fanned,  at  times,  to  flames.  The  Negro  problem 
is  the  leading  race  question  in  the  United  States  today. 
It  underlies  the  welfare  of  the  nation;  it  demands  the 
salutary  leavening  influence  of  an  adequate  Americani- 
zation spirit. 

Then  there  is  another  i3ortion  of  our  native  popu- 
lation which  comes  within  the  scope  of  Americaniza- 
tion —  the  mountaineers.  The  undeveloped  mountain 
peoples  of  Appalachia,  of  the  Ozarks,  and  of  many 
other  districts,  possessing  a  patriotism  of  the  eighteenth 
century  type  and  a  daily  thought-life  that  runs  even 
farther  back,  are  distinctly  removed  in  many  ways 
from  our  twentieth  century  American  ideals.  A  strong, 
socially-minded,  democratically-realized  America  can- 
not be  completely  constructed  until  the  two  million  or 


Scope  of  Americanization  2^ 

more  mountain-isolated  natives  come  into  harmonious 
participation  in  the  personal,  national,  and  international 
movements  of  the  day. 

The  red  Indian,  the  black  African,  and  the  white 
mountaineer  —  all  native  x^mericans  —  must  be  given 
an  education  which  will  enable  them  to  understand  and 
to  translate  twentieth  century  Americanism  into  normal 
attitudes  and  activities.  Each  group  has  valuable  qual- 
ities to  contribute  to  Americanism;  but  thus  far  each 
group  has  been  prevented  from  bringing  its  best  gifts 
to  and  receiving  the  best  stimuli  from  the  United 
States. 

At  this  point,  we  turn  from  the  native  to  the  immi- 
grant. Under  the  belief  that  the  melting-pot  process 
has  been  assimilating  the  15,000,000  European  immi- 
grants in  the  United  States  satisfactorily,  reputable 
Americans  have  rested  content.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  adult  aliens,  however,  have  been  working  in 
mines,  mills,  and  factories,  and  living  in  tenements  or 
under  boarding-boss  conditions  without  becoming 
Americanized.  When  war  was  declared  in  19 17  and 
the  United  States  needed  the  individual  and  whole- 
hearted loyalty  of  all  her  peoples,  many  of  the  foreign- 
born  did  not  respond.  They  had  known  the  United 
States,  not  at  her  best,  but  at  her  worst. 

In  19 18,  in  one  factory  alone  in  New  York  City 
there  were  70c  employees  making  uniforms  for  the 
soldiers  of  the  United  States,  but  of  this  number  not 
one  could  speak  English.  The  country  was  astounded 
to  learn  that  there  were  40,000  men  in  the  first  con- 
scription in  191 7  who  did  not  know  sufficient  English 
to  understand  the  simplest  army  orders      In  the  same 


24  Americanization 

year  in  New  York  City  alone  there  were  half  a  million 
men  and  women  who  could  not  speak,  read,  or  write 
English.  In  that  year  there  was  a  total  of  about  three 
million  adult  immigrants  in  this  country  who  could 
not  understand  or  speak  English,  and  there  were  nine 
million  adults  who  were  reading  almost  exclusively 
the  foreign  language  newspapers.  Over-crowded 
slums,  temporary  shacks  whose  filthniess  had  become 
permanent,  the  twelve  hour  day  and  the  seven  day 
week  in  the  steel  mills,  a  set  of  working  and  living 
conditions  that  were  destructive  of  moral  living, 
the  open  saloon  —  these  were  the  leading  factors  that 
had  been  Americanizing  many  European  immigrants. 

The  foreign-born  from  Asia  present  special  prob- 
lems. Seventy  years  after  their  first  advent,  they  re- 
mained, as  a  rule,  unfitted  into  the  mosaic  of  American 
Hfe.  In  our  Chinese  legislation  we  have  publicly 
stamped  the  Chinese,  even  the  skilled  and  Christian 
Chinese,  as  unworthy  persons  in  freedom's  land.  We 
have  seemed  to  want  them  only  for  their  economic 
value.  Because  satisfactory  methods  have  been  out- 
lined for  protecting  us  from  a  flood  of  Chinese  immi- 
grants, and  for  safeguarding  our  standards,  and  at  the- 
same  time  for  treating  China  in  this  matter  as  a  self- 
respecting  nation,  our  wholesale  racial  condemnation 
of  the  Chinese  puts  us  in  an  essentially  un-American 
light  before  the  exponents  of  democracy  in  China. 
China  is  still  in  the  swaddling  clothes  of  democracy 
and  is  beholding  with  wondering  eyes  the  interpreta- 
tion of  democracy  by  the  United  States  in  her  dealings 
with  Chinese  immigrants. 

The  Japanese  in  our  country,  with  certain  excep- 


Scope  of  Americanization  25 

tions,  are  an  un-American  portion  of  our  population. 
Not  only  were  they  not  being  Americanized,  but  their 
mother  country  was  being  alienated  by  our  treatment 
of  the  fundamental  issues  until  the  developing  exi- 
gencies of  the  World  War  caused  the  dissatisfactions 
temporarily  to  be  laid  aside.  California,  justly  desir- 
ous of  protecting  herself  against  a  large  Japanese 
immigration,  passed  a  land  law  in  191 3  which  put  im- 
migrants from  Japan  —  a  nation  of  recognized  stand- 
ing among  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  in  the  war 
against  Germany  to  become  one  of  America's  allies  — • 
upon  a  plane  of  forbidden  land  ownership,  while  it  left 
aliens  from  fifth-rate  nations,  such  as  Turkey,  upon 
the  higher  level  of  permissible  land  ownership.  Our 
Americanization  program  must  provide  valid  national 
and  international  solutions  of  the  questions  arising  out 
of  Japanese  immigration. 

Another  racial  problem  in  the  United  States  has 
developed  sinister  aspects.  Mexicans,  representing  in 
general  a  low  economic,  social,  and  political  level,  have 
been  brought  into  our  country  in  large  numbers  to 
meet  unskilled  labor  needs  in  the  Southwestern  States, 
such  as  California,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas. 
One  large  group  of  Mexicans  is  transient;  another  is 
settling  permanently  in  the  United  States.  No  large- 
scale  movement  is  on  foot  to  help  either  group  to  un- 
derstand us  or  to  adopt  our  higher  mode  of  living. 
The  Mexican  immigrants  are  relatively  an  uneducated 
class  who  are  not  learning  to  love  our  country.  On 
occasion  they  even  become  suspicious  of  our  ways  and 
motives.  Because  of  the  proximity  of  their  home- 
land and  of  the  delicate  international  relations  between 


26  Aniencanwation 

Mexico  and  the  United  States,  the  scope  of  our  sym- 
pathetic Americanization  vision  must  be  extended  to 
include  the  Mexican  immigrant. 

The  hour  has  struck  for  a  clear,  concrete  understand- 
ing of  American  ideals  and  traits  and  for  an  educa- 
tional movement  which  will  interpret  America's  ideals 
in  deeds  as  well  as  words  to  every  inhabitant  of  our 
nation  from  youthful  to  aged,  and  from  native  to 
foreign-born.  The  time  has  come  for  an  Americaniza- 
tion program  that  will  transform  the  polyglot,  heter- 
ogeneous elements  of  the  nation  into  a  Unified  States 
as  well  as  a  United  States. 

The  United  States  must  know  herself;  she  must 
take  stock  of  her  human  resources,  losses,  and  gains. 
She  must  plan  her  future.  But  in  making  her  human 
inventory  and  in  determining  consciously  her  destiny, 
she  must  beware  of  the  footsteps  of  Prussian  autocracy. 
She  must  transform  her  imperfect  democracy,  not  into 
another  strong  nation-state  after  the  manner  of  Prus- 
sian leadership,  but  into  a  perfected  democracy  dedi- 
cated to  the  task  of  pushing  forward  the  principles  of 
democracy  throughout  the  world. 

Genuine  Americanism  emanates,  not  from  a  profit- 
eering type  of  nationalism,  but  from  an  understanding 
of  all  the  multifarious  and  dissident  racial  and  indi- 
vidual elements  in  our  nation.  Americanism  arises 
from  a  loyalty  to  our  nation  which  is  open,  public- 
spirited,  progressive,  and  planetary.  Americanization 
is  the  process  of  enabling  all  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States  to  live  democraticaUy  with  each  other  and  with 
the  world. 


Scope  of  American'ization  27 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  has  attention  been  given   to  questions  of 

Americanization  only  within  recent  years? 

2.  What    is    the    ordinary    person's    conception    of 

Americanization  ? 

3.  Have   our   American    histories    failed    to    teach 

Americanization  ? 

4.  What  are  good  starting-points  in  studying  the 

subject  of  Americanization? 

5.  What  is  meant  by  the  making  of  an  American? 

6.  Why  is  the  figure  of  speech,  the  melting  pot,  un- 

satisfactory to  the  immigrant? 

7.  Why  has  the  melting-pot  process  in  the  United 

States  extensively  failed? 

8.  By  what  process  is  loyalty  to  a  new  ideal  engen- 

dered ? 

9.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  ''manifest  des- 

tiny" of  the  United  States? 

10.  What  is  the  main  reason  today  for  the  existence 

of  the  United  States? 

11.  What  was  the  chief  contribution  of  the  World 

War  to   the  Americanization   process     in   the 
United  States? 

12.  Which  of  the  definitions  of  Americanization  that 

are  given  in  Chapter  One  do  you  prefer,  and 
why? 

13.  Is  there  an  American  race? 

14.  Distinguish  between  race  and  nationality. 

15.  What  is  the  main  value  to  any  country  of  im- 

migration ? 


28  Aniericanization 

1 6.  How  can  we  best  get  the  support  of  immigrants 

in  times  of  a  national  crisis  ? 

17.  Distinguish  between  Americanism  and  American- 

ization. 

18.  Distinguish  between  the  problem  of  Americaniz- 
.  \^j^  ^"^  ^^^  native  and  the  problem  of  Americaniz- 
^^t^^    ^"^  ^^^  immigrant. 


Chapter  II 

AMERICAN  IDEALS:     LIBERTY  AND 
INITIATIVE 

An  Americanization  program  cannot  progress  satis- 
factorily until  common  agreement  is  reached  in  regard 
to  the  meaning  of  Americanism.  The  "fifty-seven  va- 
rieties" of  Americanism  must  be  analyzed.  Their  con- 
structive elements  must  be  unified;  the  rest  must  be 
discarded.  The  new  tendencies  of  the  hour  in  Ameri- 
canism must  be  distinguished  and  evaluated.  We, 
the  current  makers  of  Americanism,  need  to  become 
thoroughly  grounded  in  its  history,  nature,  and  po- 
tentialities. 

Americanism  is  composed  of  ideals  and  practices, 
and  oftentimes  the  practices  have  fallen  far  below  or 
even  contradicted  the  ideals.  The  problem  of  bring- 
ing American  practices  into  line  with  American  ideals  ^ 
is  essentially  the  problem  of  Americanizing  the  native- ' 
born.  This  question  will  be  discussed  in  detail  in 
Chapter  VII.  Our  first  task  is  to  analyze  American 
ideals.  The  four  groups  of  these  ideals,  which  will  be 
presented  in  order  in  this  chapter  and  Chapters  III,  IV, 
and  V,  "are  these:  (i)  liberty  and  initiative;  (2) 
union  and  co-operation;  (3)  democracy  and  justice; 
and  (4)  internationalism  and  brotherhood. 

Lib<^ty_and  initiative  have_constituted  the  most 
striking  aspects  of  American  life^and  character.  It  was 


30  -  Ainericaiihation 

these  traits  which  dominated  the  120  men  who  braved 
the  saiUng  vessel  perils  of  an  unknown  Atlantic  and 
took  up  settlement  on  May  14,  1607  on  the  James 
River,  courageously  facing  malaria,  Indian  hostility, 
gaunt  famine  and  rampant  death.  Since  the  migration 
of  the  Virginia  colonists  was  motivated  partially  by  the 
desire  to  seek  the  reported  fabulous  wealth  and  the  new 
lands  of  America,  the  liberty-loving  spirit  did  not  come 
to  political  expression  until  1618,  wdien  the  Virginians 
secured  the  right  to  elect  their  own  legislative  assem- 
bly and  thus  to  establish  representative  government  in 
America.  The  initial  representative  assembly  in  Amer- 
ica, chosen  by  the  free  colonists  of  Virginia,  convened 
on  July  30,  16 19. 

The  migration  of  the  Pilgrims  was  primarily  the 
outgrowth  of  the  desire  for  individual  liberty  in  morals 
and  religion.  The  Americanism  of  the  "Mayflower" 
covenanters  sprang  from  an  indomitable  desire  for 
liberty  —  liberty  to  establish  a  new  form  of  worship. 
It  was  from  a  church  that  the  Pilgrims  started  their 
long,  perilous  journey  to  America.  From  the  church 
to  the  harbor  of  Delft  Haven  the  historic  procession 
of  Pilgrims  was  led  by  John  Robinson,  who  carried  an 
open  Bible  on  his  hands,  and  who  read  aloud,  as  the 
procession  moved  on  its  momentous  w^ay,  the  following 
Divine  injunction:  "Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and 
from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto 
the  land  that  I  will  show  thee;  and  I  w^ill  make  of 
thee  a  great  nation;  and  in  thee  shall  all  the  families 
of  the  earth  be  blessed." 

The  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  alike  sought  liberty  in 
religious  matters.     Out  of  this  search  grew^  the  con- 


Liberty  and  Initiative  31 

stitutional  enactment  that  religious  beliefs  shall  pre- 
vent no  one  from  governmental  preferment.  Accord- 
ing to  the  first  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  Con- 
gress is  forbidden  to  make  any  law  prohibiting  the  free 
exercise  of  any  religion  or  prohibiting  the  establish- 
ment of  any  religion.  Thus,  liberty  in  religion  was 
guaranteed. 

In  his  Farewell  Address,  Washington  designated  re- 
ligion and  morals  as  necessary  corner  stones  for  the 
political  structure,  even  thougli  the  church  and  the 
government  were  to  be  kept  separate.  The  United 
States  has  demonstrated  to  the  Old  World  for  many 
scores  of  years  that  religion  can  thrive  and  can  per- 
meate the  nation  without  the  intervention  of  gov- 
ernment or  of  a  State  church. 

Puritan  morality,  also,  has  contributed  vitally  to 
American  life.  Although  too  rigorous  and  austere  in 
certain  particulars,  the  moral  discipline  enjoined  by 
Puritanism  served  to  curb  the  lower  instincts  which 
lead  to  self  indulgences  and  social  enervation.  Puri- 
tanism became  the  first  dynamic  in  Americanism.  It 
stood  for  the  religious  liberty  and  moral  freedom  of 
the  individual  American. 

It  was  out  of  the  search  for  religious  and  moral 
freedom  by  the  Puritans  that  there  arose  in  New  Eng- 
land in  the  seventeenth  century  the  demand  for  a  gov- 
ernment based  on  the  principles  of  individual  liberty. 
Throughout  the  succeeding  century  and  in  colony  after 
colony,  liberty  became  the  powerful  watchword.  It 
reached  tangible  expression  in  various  ways  —  strik- 
ingly so  through  the  New  England  town-meeting.  In- 
coming colonists  served  as  fresh  reserves  in  building 


32  Americanization 

up  the  new  Americanism.  For  example,  in  the  decades 
following  the  year  1710,  thousands  of  persecuted 
Ulsterites,  or  Scotch-Irish,  brought  a  soul-stirring 
passion  for  liberty. 

When  the  Liberty  Bell,  symbolizing  eighteenth  cen- 
tury Americanism,  was  re-cast  in  1775,  it  bore  a  mes- 
sage which  proclaimed  the  earnest  and  common  wish, 
not  only  of  the  central  colonies,  but  of  all  the  colonists, 
namely:  "Proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land, 
unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  Liberty  became  the 
powerful  ideal  which  was  to  free  a  people  from  arbi- 
trary rule. 

Then  there  appeared  in  Virginia  the  impassioned 
spokesman  of  incipient  Americanism,  Patrick  Henry. 
He  gave  a  larger  meaning  to  the  concept  of  liberty 
and  he  helped  to  unite  the  heart  yearnings  of  the  col- 
onists. In  1764,  he  uttered  a  daring  public  warning 
to  King  George  to  beware  of  inordinate  desires  for 
political  domination.  In  March,  1774,  this  delegate 
from  Hanover  County  arose  to  speak  in  a  small  log 
church  in  the  midst  of  a  Virginia  wilderness.  It  was 
he  who  was  to  give  the  country  its  watchword,  to  give 
it  at  the  critical  hour,  and  to  give  it  brilliantly.  With 
absolute  fearlessness,  Patrick  Henry  declared  that 
"war  is  inevitable,"  and  piercing  the  misty  future  he 
pointed  out  the  basis  of  ultimate  victory,  when  he  as- 
serted that  his  countrymen  "armed  in  the  holy  cause 
of  liberty  are  invincible."  With  consuming.; passion, 
he  exclaimed  that  "life  is  not  so  dear,  nor  peace  so 
sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and 
slavery."  Then,  towering  in  conscious  strength  —  a 
standard-bearer  of  the  Most  High  —  he  hurled  forth 


Liberty  and  Initiative  33 

the  call  to  arms,  and  issued  his  world-wide  and  time- 
long  challenge,  the  conditional  demand :  "Give  me 
liberty,  or  give  me  death!" 

Patrick  Henry's  personification  of  the  spirit  of  lib- 
erty electrified  the  old  church,  leaped  the  boundaries 
of  Virginia,  sent  a  thrill  through  distant  Concord  and 
Lexington,  vaulted  the  Atlantic,  shook  the  throne  of 
the  British  Empire,  and  won  the  undying  allegiance 
of  European  lovers  of  liberty,  such  as  La  Fayette  and 
Kosciuszko.  It  drew  forth  heroes  all  the  way  from  the 
plantations  of  the  Carolinas  to  the  sugar-camps  of  Ver- 
mont. It  united  Massachusetts  and  Virginia ;  it  gave  the 
inspiration  which  welded  together  the  heterogeneous 
colonial  pioneers  of  freedom  and  laid  the  foundations 
for  the  establishment  of  the  American  Union. 

In  the  following  year,  the  democratic  and  peace-lov- 
ing pen  of  Thomas  Jefferson  formulated  in  immortal 
but  abstract  terms  the  principles  of  freedom  which 
Patrick  Henry  had  painted  in  burning  colors.  To  Jef- 
ferson, liberty  meant  equality  before  the  law  of  the 
land.  It  connoted  a  freedom  which  guarantees  to  in- 
dividuals equal  redress  of  wrongs  done  and  equal  op- 
portunity to  change  the  laws  which  define  what  is 
right.  Concerning  his  successful  attack  in  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses  upon  the  operation  of  the  law  of 
primogeniture,  Jefferson  declared  that  his  purpose  was 
not  to  further  an  aristocracy  of  wealth,  of  more  harm 
and  dange  than  benefit  to  society,  but  to  encourage 
the  rise  of. an  aristocracy  of  virtue  and  talent  which 
nature  has  wisely  and  equally  scattered  throughout  all 
strata  and  conditions  of  society. 

Jefferson's  Declaration  of  Independence  emphasizes 


34  Americanization 

rights,  or  abstract  Right,  as  being  more  powerful  than 
harsh,  immutable,  colossal  Might.  Might,  which  oper- 
ates so  unbrokenly  in  the  physical  world,  so  ruthlessly 
in  many  phases  of  animal  life,  so  barbarously  in  the 
world  of  primitive  peoples,  so  unblushingly  among 
feudal  lords  and  imperial  kings,  found  open  and  por- 
tentous challenge  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Henceforth,  Might  must  bow  to  Right,  autocratic  to 
civil  authority,  and  heartless  decrees  of  inherited  pomp 
to  the  free  exercise  of  the  intelligence  of  the  common 
people. 

•  The  pre-eminent  leader  in  Revolutionary  American 
life  was  Washington.  His  name  will  forever  shine  as 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  American  In- 
dependence. His  generalship  under  the  most  adverse 
circumstances  is  a  marvel  of  the  ages.  On  July  3, 
1775,  he  was  the  commander-in-chief  of  an  army  of 
about  18,000  men  —  men  who  were  without  equip- 
ment, training,  organization,  esprit  de  corps.  By  the 
winter  of  1777- 1778,  the  men  whom  he  had  organized 
into  an  army,  had  suffered  heart-sickening  defeats,  had 
been  forced  to  surrender  several  cities,  including  New 
York,  and  had  gone  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley 
Forge,  starving,  barefooted,  and  discouraged.  But 
Washington's  noted  equipoise  of  character  and  his  love 
of  independence,  supported  by  liberty-imbued  colonists 
and  European  friends,  notably  French  friends,  finally 
won  the  victory  for  America.  For  seven  years  Wash- 
ington, without  pay,  served  his  country  and  the  cause 
of  liberty. 

The  central  ideal  of  Americanism  in  Revolutionary 
days  was  liberty.     It  was  a  liberty  which  meant  the 


Liberty  and  Initiative  35 

freedom  of  the  American  people  from  interference  by 
any  foreign  power,  and  which  guaranteed  the  security 
of  the  individual  citizen,  as  opposed  to  the  glorification 
of  the  nation-state.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  the  life,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  indi- 
vidual were  placed  under  the  complete  protection  of 
the  law.  And  law  —  the  will  of  the  people  —  was  to 
govern  the  activities  of  the  rulers  themselves.  It 
was  this  conception  which  has  been  pronounced  the 
original  contribution  of  the  American  mind  to  political 
thought. 

In  addition  to  religious  and  moral  liberty,  and  to 
political  liberty,  an  industrial  liberty  was  introduced 
by  Benjamin  Franklin.  *To  the  concept  of  American- 
ism, Franklin  made  his  unique  contribution  in  the  role 
of  "Poor  Richard."  The  teachings  of  "Poor  Richard" 
have  been  widely  effective  in  conditioning  the  practical, 
every-day  activities  of  Americans.  "They  moulded 
our  great-grandparents  and  their  children,"  said  John 
T.  Morse,  Jr.,  the  biographer.  'They  have  formed 
our  popular  traditions;  they  still  influence  our  actions, 
guide  our  way  of  thinking,  and  establish  our  points 
of  view,  with  the  constant  control  of  acquired  habits 
which  we  little  suspect.  'Poor  Richard'  has  found  eter- 
nal life  by  passing  into  the  daily  speech  of  the  people." 
"Poor  Richard"  has  been  described  as  "the  revered 
and  popular  schoolmaster  of  a  young  -nation  during 
its  period  of  tutelage."  He  is  the  personification  of 
thrift  —  a  self-reliant  thrift  by  which  our  forefathers 
laid  the  foundations  of  our  material  welfare,  our  indi- 
vidual success,  and  our  national  prosperity. 

Out  of  the  industrial  liberty  and  individual  initiative 


36  Americanization 

for  which  the  forefathers  were  noted,  there  has  grown 
modern  business  prowess.  Under  the  protection  of 
law,  individuals  with  courage,  foresight,  and  business 
ability  have  built  vast  industrial  corporations  and 
amassed  gigantic  fortunes.  They  have  also  developed 
wonderful  powers  of  efficient  production  of  econornic 
goods.  They  have  evolved  marvelous  organizing  abil- 
ity. It  was  by  virtue  of  these  qualities  that  our  de- 
mocracy was  enabled  within  a  remarkably  short  time 
to  pour  more  than  a  million  soldiers  on  the  battlefields 
of  France  in  19 18  and  to  assist  in  halting  and  turning 
the  tide  of  victory. 

The  American  has  been  an  individual  even  more  in 
the  industrial  than  in  the  political  field.  In  developing 
the  natural  resources  of  the  land,  his  initiative  has 
known  no  bounds.  He  has  not  hesitated  —  unless  in 
some  instances  in  recent  years  —  to  swing  the  axe,  to 
follow  the  plough,  to  span  the  continent,  to  project 
the  sky-scraper,  to  conquer  the  air.  He  has  become  a 
man  of  action  and  a  living  illustration  of  la  vie  intense 
—  the  strenuous  life.  As  Emerson  has  indicated,  the 
average  American  has  walked  on  his  own  feet,  worked 
with  his  own  hands,  and  spoken  with  his  own  mind. 
i"  ( The  American  has  been  the  world's  chief  Pioneer.) 

The  American  has  been  unafraid  to  develop  blis- 
tered or  calloused  hands ;  he  has  not  been  ashamed  of 
the  insignia  of  honest  toil.  He  has  admired  the  man 
who  is  doing  things,  who  is  achieving,  who  is  climb- 
ing the  ladder  of  success.  Moreover,  he  has  thrown  off 
his  coat,  set  his  jaws,  drawn  his  belt  taut,  and  plunged 
upward,  round  after  round.  The  American  youth  has 
been  perennially  stimulated  by  the  dream  of  becoming 


Liberty  and  Initiative  37 

President  of  the  United  States,  knowing  that  such  a 
distinction  was  possible  to  any  American  of  hoiw?sty 
and  ability.  Lincoln  is  a  favorite  among  Americans 
because  he  rose  through  his  own  consistent  efforts 
from  the  depths  of  poverty  and  obscurity  to  the  heights 
of  fame  and  service.  Roosevelt's  appeal  to  his  fellow- 
countrymen  developed  chiefly  from  his  independence  of 
judgment,  fearlessness  of  statement,  and  strenuousness 
of  attack.  Daring  to  defy  special  privilege,  he  won  a 
place  among  America's  immortals. 

The  American  has  been  willing  to  undertake  any- 
thing once  —  trusting  to  his  own  versatility  and  in- 
genuity to  escape  from  unforeseen  predicaments. 
Strange  and  harsh  circumstances  have  challenged  his 
initiative  and  self-reliance  until  inventions  have  burst 
forth  from  his  mind  by  the  thousands  and  enabled  him 
to  face  and  master  the  forces  of  land,  ocean,  and  air. 
The  term,  Yankee  ingenuity,  has  become  well-known 
in  the  world.  The  annual  output  of  inventions  in  the 
United  States  probably  excels  that  of  all  other  coun- 
tries of  the  world  combined. 

Initiative  has  produced  inventiveness.  Under  the 
American's  inventive  touch,  the  telegraph  and  the  tele- 
phone have  been  perfected  until  persons  can  converse 
without  the  aid  of  wires  and  in  ordinary  tones  across 
the  continental  expanse  between  New  York  and  San 
Francisco.  The  phonograph  has  been  evolved  until 
skilled  musicians  in  a  concert  hall  are  baffled  to  tell 
whether  an  artist's  voice  is  proceeding  from  the  artist 
himself  or  from  the  wonder-producing  instrument  be- 
side which  he  stands.  The  overland  limited  train  has 
reached  the  perfected  combination  of  the  untiring  speed 


38  Americanization 

of  the  carrier  pigeon  and  the  comforts  of  a  luxurious 
home. 

Although  seen  by  only  a  few  Americans,  and  ex- 
perimenting methodically  in  an  unspectacular  labora- 
tory, Thomas  A.  Edison  is  easily  one  of  America's 
greatest  citizens.  Supporting  the  liberty-loving  and 
self-reliant  leaders  from  Franklin  to  Edison,  from 
Washington  to  Roosevelt  and  Wilson,  an  innumerable 
company  of  humble  American  fathers  and  mothers 
have  lived  and  worked,  heroically  opening  a  new  conti- 
nent and  bequeathing  magnificent  opportunities  for  the 
expression  of  self-initiative  to  their  children. 

Initiative  —  this  has  been,  the  American's  rugged 
characteristic.  Behind  an  overemphasis  upon  commer- 
cialism there  is  not  a  sodden  nature  so  much  as  a  self- 
initiative  run  wild.  Behind  ugly  lynching  practices 
there  is  not  wanton  brutality  so  much  as  the  rash  at- 
tempt to  render  justice  one's  self,  without  waiting  for 
the  slower  procedure  of  law.  The  strength  of  the 
United  States  has  been  found  in  her  emphasis  upon 
liberty  and  initiative;  her  weakness  has  grown  out  of 
the  fact  that  she  has  thought  of  liberty  and  initiative 
too  frequently  in  terms  of  the  individual  self  and  not 
sufficiently  in  terms  of  the  public  self. 

The  rewards  to  self-initiative  in  the  United  States 
have  often  defied  computation.  Millionaires  have  been 
made  over-night,  and  many  times  through  little  or  no 
efiFort  of  their  own.  Consequently  a  boundless  opti- 
mism has  run  high.  The  Westward  Movement  in  the 
United  States  was  continually  characterized  by  sub- 
stantial, materialistic  surprises.  Then  Big  Business 
followed  with  its  unheralded  financial  rewards.     Initia- 


Liberty  and  Initiative  39 

tive  has  been  coined  into  dollars,  and  the  American 
Pioneer  has  been  transformed  into  an  uncrowned  in- 
dustrial king. 

The  rewards  to  initiative  have  stamped  the  face  of 
the  American  with  lines  of  expectation  and  optimism. 
They  have  supported  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  holding 
aloft  her  precious  torch.  They  have  guarded  the  Lib- 
erty Bell,  pealing  forth  its  notes  of  freedom.  They 
have  created  the  independent  and  sturdy  figure  of 
Uncle  Sam.  Americanism  has  become  synonymous 
with  self-expression,  self-initiative,  and  self-perfection. 
If  in  certain  quarters  these  ideals  have  become  cor- 
rupted, let  Americans  unite  in  restoring  to  them  their 
earlier  purity  and  original  lustre.  If  they  have  unduly 
encouraged  selfishness  throughout  our  land,  let  Amer- 
icans unite  in  harmonizing  them  with  public  needs. 


PROBLEMS 

1.  What  criticism  can  you  offer  concerning  the  an- 

alysis of  American  ideals  that  is  given  in  the 
second  paragraph  of  this  chapter? 

2.  Which  of  the  four  sets  of  ideals  that  are  indi- 

cated in  paragraph  two  is  the  most  attractive  ^ 
to  the  immigrant? 

3.  What  do  you  consider  the  most  important  Amer- 
•  ican  ideal? 

4.  In  your  opinion,  what  important  ideal  do  Ameri- 

cans lack  most? 

5.  Distinguish  between  American  ideals,  American 

traits,  and  Americanism. 


40  Americanization 

6.  Are  American  ideals  primarily  a  matter  of  the 

past,  the  present,  or  the  future? 

7.  What  did  the  term,  America,  mean  to  the  world 

in  1607? 
•  8.     How  had  the  meaning  of  that  term  changed  by 

1775?  ^K 

9.     What  phases  of  Americanism  did  Franklin  rep-gjr 
resent  ? 

10.  Why  do  we  give  Washington  the  first  place  in 

the  early  history  of  Americanism? 

11.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  term,  personal 

liberty  ? 

12.  Is  selfishness  and  the  desire  for  personal  liberty 

synonymous  ? 

13.  How  do  you  account  for  the  inventiveness  of  the 

American  mind? 

14.  Are  Americans  tending  to  become  ashamed  of 

manual  labor? 

15.  Will  a  strong  emphasis  on  a  social  welfare  stand- 

point tend  to  crush  out  the  ideals  of  individual 
liberty  and  self-initiative? 

16.  In  a  program  of  Americanization,  how  much  em- 

phasis should  be  put  upon  the  initiative  of  the 
immigrant  ? 


Chapter  III 

AMERICAN  IDEALS :    UNION  AND 
CO-OPERATION 

In  the  life-works  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  the 
struggle  for  liberty  was  inseparably  bound  with  the 
contest  for  union.  Washington  and  Jefferson  fought 
for  both  liberty  and  union  —  union  as  a  means  of  guar- 
anteeing liberty.  They  both  recognized  that  liberty 
could  not  stand  alone  —  it  would  be  safe  only  when 
supported  by  union. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  for  union,  Alexan- 
der Hamilton  stood  forth  with  unfaltering  boldness 
and  more  prominently  than  any  other  person.  With 
steadfast  loyalty  to  the  needs  of  establishing  a  political 
union,  Hamilton  lived  and  spoke  and  wrote  —  always 
ably  —  until  his  chief,  and  ours,  in  his  Farewell  Ad- 
dress incorporated  a  panegyric  in  its  behalf. 

The  difficulties  which  faced  Hamilton  were  grave. 
The  liberty  which  the  freedom-loving  colonists  sought 
\vas_for_the  individual  and  the  individual  colony.  Each 
colony  was  reluctant  to  join  with  the  other  common- 
wealths even  in  a  loose  and  temporary  confederation. 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  made  Congress  a  con- 
stitutional body  and  included  the  principle  of  equality 
of  representation.  It  was  only  after  several  years  of 
convincingly  unsatisfactory  experiences  with  a  confed- 
eration that  recognition  was  given  to  the  Hamiltonian 
idea  of  a  union.     Under  the  name  of  "Publlus,"  and 


42  Americanization 

in  a  series  of  essays,  known  as  "The  Federalist,"  Ham- 
ilton advocated  the  formation  of  the  Union.  Through 
a  brilliant  series  of  debates,  he  succeeded  in  swinging 
his  own  pivotal  state  of  New  York  into  line;  where- 
upon the  fruits  of  victory  began  to  appear.  In  the 
preamble  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the 
need  of  establishing  "a  more  perfect  union"  was  given 
first  place.  The  change  from  a  confederacy  to  a  fed- 
eracy  gave  the  Union  a  rank  equal  in  importance  to 
that  of  liberty.  To  guarantee  opportunity  for  the  de- 
velopment and  expression  of  human  personalities  a 
union  was  necessary. 

Hamilton  helped  not  only  to  inaugurate  the  Union, 
but  to  secure  its  firm  establishment.  By  his  financial 
acumen,  he  made  certain  the  success  of  the  national 
government.  According  to  his  biographer,  H.  C. 
Lodge,  he  created  a  public  credit,  supplied  circulating 
media  and  financial  machinery,  revived  business,  and 
aided  in  transforming  a  paper  Constitution  into  a  doc- 
ument with  a  system  and  a  government  behind  it. 
Hamilton  put  Nationalism  into  Americanism. 

The  super-champion  in  the  establishment  of  the 
American  Union  was  Washington.  He  laid  the  national 
foundations  without  the  aid  of  a  throne,  of  an  aristoc- 
racy, or  of  a  caste.  In  the  Farewell  Address,  he  fo- 
cussed  public  attention  upon  the  necessity  of  support- 
ing the  Union,  and  declared  to  the  American  people 
that  the  Union  Is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  their 
real  independence;  It  is  the  support  of  their  safety, 
tranquility,  and  prosperity  at  home,  of  their  peace 
abroad,  and  above  all  else,  of  that  liberty  which  they 
so  highly  prized. 


Union  and  Co-operation  43 

It  was  not  in  the  spirit  of  a  partisan  that  Washing- 
ton worked,  for  he  tried  faithfully  to  draw  together 
the  leading  representatives  of  the  political  parties  of 
the  day  in  the  management  of  the  government.  He  ur- 
gently warned  against  the  evil  influences  of  parti- 
san politics.  He  consistently  believed  in  the  Union,  not 
as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  necessary  means  for  guar- 
anteeing the  liberties  of  the  individual.  Washington 
rose  to  permanent  fame  as  the  pre-eminent  leader  of 
the  forces  of  liberty;  he  rounded  out  his  career  in  his 
later  years  by  taking  the  leading  role  in  establishing  the 
Union. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  in  his  first  inaugural  address, 
mentioned  the  importance  of  individual  liberty  before 
the  law  and  of  equal  opportunity  in  changing  the  law. 
He  then  proceeded  to  stress  the  absolute  need  for  a 
union  of  the  states,  for  preserving  the  general  govern- 
ment in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor,  for  the  sacred 
preservation  of  the  public  faith.  He  modified  this  at- 
titude somewhat  by  speaking  for  the  rights  of  the  state 
governments  as  the  most  competent  administration  of 
domestic  concerns  and  the  surest  bulwarks  aga»nst 
anti-republican  tendencies. 

The  struggle  in  behalf  of  the  Union  went  forward 
into  the  nineteenth  century ;  the  Union  was  championed 
by  Webster  and  opposed  by  Hayne  and  Calhoun. 
Should  an  over-emphasis  upon  the  ideal  of  Liberty  and 
its  political  corollary,  States'  Rights,  or  should  a 
strengthening  of  the  Union  and  of  federal  control  pre- 
vail? In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  at  the 
zenith  of  his  greatness,  Webster  repudiated  the  prob- 
able results  of  making  primary  a  theory  of  States' 


44  Americmiization 

Rights.  He  prayed  that  he  might  never  see  the  sun 
in  the  heavens  shining  on  "the  broken  and  dishonored 
fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union,  on  states  dissev- 
ered, discordant,  belligerent;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil 
feuds,  or  drenched  it  may  be  in  fraternal  blood !"  Then 
achieving  the  height  of  his  political  power  and  patriotic 
sagacity,  amid  the  silence  of  an  awe-inspired  Senate, 
he  declared  for  "that  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every 
American  heart, —  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  for- 
ever, one  and  inseparable." 

However,  a  hungry-hearted  and  sorrow-burdened 
Lincoln  was  necessary  before  the  whole  nation  was 
ready  to  accept  Washington's  earnest  solicitation  and 
Webster's  pronouncement.  The  work  of  the  able  com- 
promiser, Henry  Clay,  availed  little.  By  1858,  the  ad- 
vocates of  individual  slavery  and  States'  Rights  had 
openly  challenged  the  abolitionists  and  the  supporters 
of  the  Union. 

On  June  16,  1858,  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  Abraham 
Lincoln  asserted  that  "this  government  cannot  endure 
permanently  half  slave  and  half  free" ;  he  declared  that 
"a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  Again, 
the  appeal  was  to  the  Union,  not  as  an  end  for  pur- 
poses of  national  glorification;  but  for  safeguarding 
the  liberties  of  the  individual,  and  for  the  widest,  most 
consistent  expression  of  personality.  Upon  this  basis, 
the  Civil  War  was  fought  and  won.  Neither  the  ideal 
of  Liberty  nor  of  Union  remained  triumphant.  Liberty 
without  tjnion  would  wreck  itself  on  the  rocks  of  an- 
archy; Union  without  liberty  would  suffer  the  fate  of 
a  Prussianized  state.  Together  they  function:  two 
essential  foci  of  the  ellipse  of  democracy.    In  our  na- 


Union  and  Co-operation  45 

tion  individual  liberty  is  safeguarded  to  the  degree 
that  it  operates  in  ways  consistent  with  or  in  support 
of  public  welfare;  the  Union  is  respected  to  the  point 
where  it  cuts  short  the  development  of  personality. 

Union,  politically,  has  its  corollaries  in  several  other 
phases  of  life  in  the  United  States.  Our  people  started 
out  with  a  common  possession  of  civilized  standards 
and.  aptitudes,  which  were  socially  inherited  from  Eu- 
rope, chiefly  from  England.  While  divisions  have  oc- 
curred in  American  life,  yet  the  fundamental  cultural 
inheritance  of  civilized  ideals  has  served  to  restore  and 
maintain  unity.  Unto  the  original  racial  stock  that 
came  from  Western  Europe,  other  racial  elements  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  have  been  added.  The  crude 
melting  pot  process  has  been  supplemented  by  telic 
Americanization  methods.  While  a  distinct  race  in  the 
biological  sense  has  not  yet  developed,  it  is  taking 
form,  and  some  day,  will  become  a  reality.  Out  of 
the  antagonistic  characteristics  of  English  and  Irish, 
of  Scotch  and  German,  of  Scandinavian  and  Italian,  of 
Slav  and  Jew,  there  has  come  a  remarkable  degree  of 
fundamental  unity.  In  a  generation  or  two  in  the 
United  States,  former  differences  and  old  prejudices 
disappear  and  the  various  races  become  united  in  la- 
boring together  and  in  looking  forward.  Millions  of 
immigrant  children  have  been  trained  by  our  public 
school  system  into  a  common  loyalty  to  the  United 
States. 

The  spirit  of  co-operation  has  begun  to  manifest 
itself  in  matters  of  conservation  under  the  direction  of 
persons  like  Pinchot,  Roosevelt,  and  Hoover.     A  sub- 


46  Americanization 

stantial  unity  of  action  has  been  secured  in  behalf  of 
the  conservation  of  national  resources. 

When  the  United  States  was  asked  to  feed  half  the 
world,  a  food  administration  in  whom  the  people  had 
confidence  was  chosen  to  devise  the  necessary  ways 
and  means  and  to  instruct  rather  than  command  the 
people.  Then,  without  bread  or  meat  cards,  and  with- 
out police  enforcement,  practically  every  American  re- 
sponded. The  wealthy  were  asked  to  conserve  most; 
the  poor  felt  the  food  regulations  least.  In  the  spring 
of  1918  when  vast  additional  quantities  of  wheat  were 
needed  for  the  Allies,  Mr.  Hoover  called  the  managers 
of  the  leading  hostelries  of  the  country  and  of  the 
dining  car  conductors  of  the  chief  railroad  lines  to 
Washington,  explained  to  them  the  situation,  and  re- 
quested that  all  cease  to  serve  white  bread  until  the 
European  need  should  be  relieved  by  the  new  wheat 
crop.  Unanimous  co-operation  was  secured.  All  ceased 
to  serve  white  bread,  presenting  the  reasons  on  printed 
cards  to  the  clientele,  who  accepted  the  conditions. 
Thus,  building  upon  the  voluntary  action  of  the  people, 
rather  than  upon  compulsion,  the  United  States  Food 
Administration  secured  a  co-operation  so  widespread 
that  our  European  Allies  were  saved  to  the  cause  of 
democracy. 

Co-operation  is  beginning  to  manifest  itself  in  re- 
ligious activities.  Although  religion  has  been  made  an 
affair  of  individual  liberty  in  the  United  States  and 
although  many  scores  of  distinct  religious  creeds  have 
been  promulgated,  a  reaction  has  begun  which  is  unit- 
ing church  bodies  that  were  disrupted  by  the  Civil 
War,  which  is  bringing  about  co-operation  in  the  form 


Union  and  Co-operation  47 

of  such  organizations  "as  the  Men  and  Religion  For- 
ward Movement,  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America,  the  Young  Men's  and  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations,  the  Inter-Church 
World  Movement,  and  which  is  augmenting  the  social 
force  of  religion  by  securing  the  co-operative  efiorts 
of  Protestant,  Catholic,  and  Jew. 
)  The  American  proclivity  for  forming  co-operative 

/  organizations  is  omnipresent.  At  the  suggestion  of  a 
new  idea  in  almost  any  line  of  thought,  someone  ap- 
points a  committee  which  draws  up  a  constitution  and 
by-laws,  and  immediately  the  machinery  of  the  new 
organization  begins  to  turn.  The  window  of  the  ticket 
office  opens  and  immediately  if  they  have  not  already 
done  so,  the  crowds  "line  up."  Any  American  of 
prominence  belongs  to  so  many  organizations  that  he 
can  scarcely  fulfil  his  obligations  in  any  satisfactorily. 
The  fact  that  our  church  life,  school  and  college  life, 
business  and  industrial  life  are  over-organized  implies 
that  a  noticeable  degree  of  co-operative  spirit  exists 
in  the  United  States. 

Capital  has  established  colossal  and  powerful  organ- 
izations in  our  country.  A  complete  picture  of  the 
corporate  business  life  in  the  United  States  would  be 
astounding  and  bewildering.  On  the  other  hand,  mil- 
lions of  laboring  men  are  unionized  under  the  direc- 
tion of  one  man  —  the  head  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  labor.  The  co-operation  of  laboring  men  has 
now  become  so  effective  that  it  halts  without  notice  the 
train  service  of  an  entire  area,  it  shuts  down  the  coal 
mines  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  and  it  secures  wages 
that  are  more  attractii-e  than  the  salaries  of  profes- 


48  Americanization 

sional  people.  The  fact  that  stupendous  conflicts  be- 
tween capital  and  labor  are  taking  place  need  not  blind 
anyone  to  the  opposite  fact  that  a  far-reaching  un- 
dercurrent has  set  in  which  apparently  is  destined  to 
bring  about  industrial  reconciliation  and  co-operation. 

It  is  true  that  much  of  the  co-operation  that  is  now 
evident  in  the  United  States  springs  from  selfish  pur- 
poses. A  thousand  significant  illustrations  might  be 
given,  however,  which  would  prove,  despite  political 
animosities,  industrial  strife,  and  material  motives, 
the  genuine  unity  of  the  people  of  our  country.  The 
reaction  of  our  citizens,  when  they  w^ere  once  aroused 
to  the  impending  dangers  in  191 7  is  the  most  forceful 
case  in  point.  With  surprising  unanimity  the  Ameri- 
can people,  although  reared  in  the  lap  of  a  laissez  faire 
social  philosophy  and  hardened  by  a  doctrinaire  indi- 
vidualism, accepted  the  principle  of  conscription.  The 
co-operative  spirit  of  Americans  of  high  and  low  estate 
was  attested  by  the  unprecedented  support  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  Liberty  Loan  campaigns.  With  one  tre- 
mendous bound,  the  United  States  responded  in  April, 
19 1 7,  to  President  Wilson's  appeal  to  make  the  world 
safe  for  democracy. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  spirit  of  union  and  co-oper- 
ation is  symbolized  in  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  With 
thirteen  parallel  stripes  for  the  original  union  of  col- 
onies, and  with  forty-eight  stars  in  a  common  field  for 
the  unity  today  of  the  states ;  with  red  for  the  militant 
spirit  of  liberty  and  initiative,  with  white  representing 
a  democratic  blending  not  only  of  the  prismatic  colors 
but  of  the  varied-tempered  personalities  of  the  nation, 
with  blue  for  the  "true  blue"  spirit  of  union,  co-opera- 


^v^ 


Union  and  Co-operation  49 

tion,  and  brotherhood  —  with  all  these  together,  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  the  Red,  White,  and  Blue,  the  result 
is  not  only  a  beautiful  ensign  but  the  most  expressive 
symbol  of  political  union  and  social  co-operation  that 
is  known  to  the  world. 


PROBLEMS 

I.     Why  was  the  Confederacy  of   1783  to   1789  a 
failure? 
^^..  .      2.     For  what  opposite  elements  in  Americanism  did 
jift^!^,     ^  Hamilton  and  Jefferson  stand? 

^\^  iM  '^*     Why  did  Calhoun  oppose  the  supremacy  of  the 
Union  ? 
4.     What  was  the  cause  of  the  Civil  War? 
^^  5.     In  what  phases  of  American  life  today  has  the 
yv«*f^  spirit  of  union  and  co-operation  entered  exten- 

sively ? 

6.  Were  the  people  of  the  United  States  more  united 
during  the  World  War  than  at  present? 

7.  Do  intercollegiate  football  contests  increase  the 
co-operative  spirit  between  colleges? 

8.  How  can  colleges  and  universities  develop  more 
co-operative  spirit  than  they  now  possess? 

9.  Has  the  church  as  an  institution  played  an  im- 
portant role  in  bringing  together  the  varied  ele- 
ments in  American  life? 

10.  What  are  the  dangers  of  over-organization  in  the 
United  States? 

11.  What  causes  people  to  want  to  co-operate? 


^ 


Chapter  IV 

AMERICAN  IDEALS:     DEMOCRACY  AND 
JUSTICE 


The  third  set  of  golden  threads  which  has  been 
woven  into  the  fabric  of  Americanism  is  democracy 
and  justice.  A  democracy  is  a  group  in  which  the  in- 
dividual members  are  ruling.  From  this  common  ruler- 
ship  and  this  give-and-take  between  individuals  there 
vicariously  arises  the  substance  and  form'  of  justice. 

Democracy  was  introduced  to  the  world  by  the  city- 
states  of  Greece,  given  trenchant  meaning  in  the  teach- 
ings of  early  Christianity,  extended  by  the  Magna  Char- 
ta,  revitalized  by  the  Protestant  reformers,  and  accord- 
ed unprecedented  opportunities  in  the  United  States. 
Here  it  has  evolved  from  humble  but  sturdy  begin- 
nings, has  made  advance  in  spite  of  aristocratic  preju- 
dices, has  become  nationalized,  pan-Americanized,  and 
internationalized. 

Shortly  before  landing,  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  formu- 
lated a.  statement  of  the  democratic  ideals  which  they 
proposed  to  serve.  While  the  inception  of  these  ideals 
may  be  traced  in  their  origins  to  English,  French,  and 
Dutch  developments  of  thought,  and  even  to  the  Gre- 
cian democracies,  it  is  also  significant  that  the  "May- 
flower" Compact  was  drawn  up  nearly  thirty  years  be- 
fore the  adoption  of  the  "Agreement  of  the  People"  in 
the  time  of  Cromwell ;  that  it  was  signed  seventy  years 


Democracy  and  Justice  51 

previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  ''Treatises  on  Gov- 
ernment" by  John  Locke,  which  developed  the  doctrine 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people;  and  that  it  antedated 
the  Contrat  social  of  Rousseau  by  142  years. 

The  "Mayflower"  Pilgrims  agreed  to  unite  in  "a 
civil  body  politic."  This  organization  of  the  people 
was  to  be  a  means,  not  an  end;  it  was  to  enact  just 
and  equal  laws  that  would  be  "for  ye  general  good  of 
ye  Colonic,  unto  which  we  promise  all  due  submission 
and  obedience."  It  was  an  instrument  of  the  people, 
to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  this  self-same  people.  It 
declared  that  lazv,  and  not  the  arbitrary  and  capricious 
will  of  any  individual,  such  as  a  king,  should  be  the 
basis  of  government  The  content  and  spirit  of  law 
was  to  be  measured  by  "ye  general  good  of  ye  Col- 
onie,"  that  is,  by  public  welfare. 
(  Democracy  in  the  United  States  has  swung  back 
and  forth  between  abstract  equality  on  one  hand  and 
practical  fraternity  on  the  other.)  According  to  the 
"Mayflower"  covenant,  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  desired 
democracy  for  their  own  small  group.  The  Puritans 
proper  held  an  even  more  circumscribed  view  of  democ- 
racy than  the  Separatist  Puritans,  or  Pilgrims.  From 
a  more  or  less  intolerant,  bigoted,  and  microcosmic 
democracy  for  the  members  of  a  small  religious  group 
to  a  world-must-be-made-safe-for-democracy  ideal  is  a 
long,  long  journey.  Nevertheless,  it  is  the  distance 
which  has  been  traversed  in  America  between  Decem- 
ber 21,  1620  and  April  2,  191 7.  It  is  the  ground 
which  has  been  covered  between  the  days  of  the  local- 
ized democracy  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  world-wide 
democracy  of  President  Wilson.  The  intervening  dec- 
ades have  witnessed  the  vacillating  but  increasingly 


52  Americanization 

successful  experiments  in  the  United  States  to  adapt 
and  to  interpret  the  principles  of  democracy  in  the 
deepening  and  enlarging  spheres  of  individual,  national, 
pan-American,  and  international  activities. 

By  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  period,  de- 
mocracy had  been  given  common  currency  in  terms  of 
political  equality  —  equality  of  the  rights  of  Individ- 
uals before  the  law.  It  had  come  to  signify  the  su- 
premacy of  civil  law  made  by  the  people,  over  the 
rule  of  military  authority,  expressed  autocratically.  It 
meant  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  in  contrast  to  the 
domination  of  kings.  It  provided  for  the  free  exer- 
cise of  the  individual  intellect  in  matters  of  govern- 
ment without  interference  by  arbitrary  power.  It 
founded  governmental  authority  on  the  consent  of  the 
governed  as  determined  by  the  will  of  majorities  and 
pluralities.  It  offered  protection  of  the  fundamental 
needs  of  the  individual,  such  as  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness. 

These  principles  culminated  in  the  life-work  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  who  has  been  called  the  first 
prophet  of  American  democracy.  Jefferson  advocated 
democracy  through  a  jealous  care  of  popular  suffrage; 
democracy,  through  absolute  acquiescence  in  the  de- 
cisions of  the  majority;  democracy,  through  maintain- 
ing the  supremacy  of  civil  over  military  authority,  re- 
ducing the  latter  to  a  well-disciplined  militia;  democ- 
racy, through  rendering  justice  to  all  men  regardless 
of  belief  or  condition;  democracy,  throug'h  diffusing 
information  and  arraigning  all  abuse  at  the  bar  of 
public  reason. 

In   1823,  President  James  Monroe,  acting  in  line 


Democracy  and  Justice  53 

with  the  previous  declaration  of  John  Quincy  Adams 
and  having  the  support  of  the  EngHsh  statesman, 
John  Canning,  startled  the  civilized  world  when  he 
asserted  that  not  only  the  United  States,  but  the  Cen- 
tral and  the  South  American  commonwealths  were 
henceforth  to  be  preserved  inviolate  for  experiments 
in  democracy.  Under  the  protecting  influence  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  democracy  was  placed  on  trial  in 
both  Americas  —  free  from  further  intervention  or  col- 
onization by  autocratic  European  governments.  Pres- 
ident Monroe  insisted  that  the  political  systems  of  the 
European  powers  were  essentially  different  from  gov- 
ernment in  America  and  that  therefore  "we  should 
consider  any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their 
system  to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous 
to  our  peace  and  safety."  Further,  we  could  not  look 
upon  any  interposition  for  the  purpose  of  oppressing 
the  independent  Central  and  South  American  democ- 
racies, or  controlling  in  any  manner  their  destiny,  by 
any  European  power  in  any  other  light  than  as  the 
manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposition  toward  the 
United  States. 

In  those  daring  words,  the  world  was  informed 
that  henceforth  the  Americas  were  to  be  left  free  iiom 
European  autocratic  influence  in  developing  the  spirit 
of  democracy.  (By  1823,  the  Western  Hemisphere  had 
been  reserved  as  an  experimental  laboratory  in  democ- 
racy. ) 

While  these  experiments  are  today  far  from  a  suc- 
cessful culmination,  the  United  States  has  succeeded 
in  maintaining  effectively  its  political  guardianship  over 
democratic    efforts  in  the  sister  American    republics. 


54  Americanization 

Both  Europe  and  Asia  have  cast  longing  eyes  toward 
Central  and  South  America.  Even  a  war  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  over  boundary 
lines  between  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana  seemed 
imminent,  after  Great  Britain  had  refused  to  submit 
the  dispute  to  arbitration.  But  President  Cleveland  in 
clear,  staunch  defense  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  inti- 
mated his  readiness  to  employ  military  force,  and  tlicre- 
by  sent  a  tremor  of  respect  for  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
throughout  England.  The  forceful  action  of  President 
Cleveland  caused  England  to  reverse  her  earlier  de- 
cision and  to  decide  to  submit  to  arbitration.  As  a 
result,  the  Monroe  Doctrine  acquired  a  more  real  mean- 
ing than  it  had  hitherto  possessed.  Our  defense  of 
democracy  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  had  become  a 
reality. 

Through  manipulation  and  intrigue  in  Mexico,  Ger- 
many almost  succeeded  in  191 7  in  alienating  that  re- 
public from  pan- American  loyalty.  Through  perfidy 
and  secret  machinations  in  the  United  States,  Germany 
likewise  was  nearly  successful  in  confounding  democ- 
racy in  our  own  republic.  Fortunately,  democracy  in 
the  United  States  has  righted  itself;  and  in  the  repub- 
lics to  the  south,  it  has  taken  on  new  life  because  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine,  of  Cleveland's  brave  support  of 
that  doctrine,  and  of  the  entry  of  the  United  States 
into  the  World  War  for  democracy.  The  extension  of 
the  principle  of  democracy  bids  fair  to  continue,  un- 
disturbed by  European  intervention,  in  the  twenty-two 
American  republics. 

The  days  of  Monroe  were  followed  by  increased 
national  suffering,  due  to  the  disturbing  thorn  of  sla- 


Democracy  and  Justice  55 

very  in  the  side  of  democracy.  The  situation  became 
acute  under  the  piercing  and  prodding  declaration  of 
the  abolitionists  —  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell 
Phillips,  John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  John  Brown.  These  persons  uttered  a  mes- 
sage which  in  composite  form  constituted  virtually  a 
second  Declaration  of  Independence. 

When  the  first  Declaration  was  drafted,  the  white 
race  alone  had  been  included.  The  black  race  was  then 
considered  a  distinctively  lower  type.  The  idea  did  not 
occur  that  the  Negro  might  be  potentially  on  the  same 
general  plane  as  the  Caucasian  and  possessed  of  the 
same  human  needs.  Time,  however,  produced  new 
conceptions.  The  black  man  was  seen  to  be  as  human 
as  the  white  man.  The  inconsistency  of  slavery  in  the 
land  of  democracy  smote  many  exponents  of  democ- 
racy to  silence,  and  raised  the  voices  of  her  fearless 
champions  in  persistent  protest. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
the  historic  house-divided-against-itself  speech  of  Lin- 
coln at  Springfield  brought  the  main  issue  clearly  be- 
fore the  nation.  Lincoln  proclaimed  that  our  democ- 
racy could  not  endure  permanently  "half  slave  and 
half  free."  The  issue  was :  Shall  the  concepts  of  Lib- 
erty (for  the  Negro)  and  Union  (for  the  nation)  be 
expanded?  This  problem  finally  rent  the  nation;  but 
even  at  the  darkest  hours  of  the  contest,  Lincoln  auda- 
ciously announced  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  in 
the  rebellious  South  were  "thenceforth  and  forever 
free" ;  and  that  their  freedom  would  be  recognized  and 
enforced  by  the  army  and  navy.  Lincoln  declared  that 
this  act  of  emancipation  was  warranted  by  the  Consti- 


56  Americanization 

tution  —  a  new  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  in- 
volving an  extension  of  the  concept  of  democracy. 

Then  came  the  memorable  Gettysburg  Speech,  en- 
shrining the  Union  dead  in  the  flag  of  a  new  freedom 
which  included  Negro  as  well  as  Caucasian,  re-defining 
a  Union  whose  power  to  hold  itself  intact  was  never 
again  to  be  seriously  questioned,  and  basing  democracy 
upon  a  government  "of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people."  Thus,  Lincoln  extended  the  idea  of 
liberty,  saved  the  Union,  and  created  a  higher  concept 
of  democracy  —  a  three- fold  achievement. 

In  the  decades  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
the  Westward  Movement  culminated.  Days  of  ma- 
terial advancement  and  national  prosperity  came,  halted 
briefly  by  the  panic  of  1873.  Industrial  and  business 
organizations  multiplied  rapidly  and  grew  in  power 
and  affluence.  The  effect  upon  democracy  was  tremen- 
dous and  alarming.  No  less  an  American  than  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson  in  an  address  on  "The  Fortune  of  the 
Republic"  in  1878,  said: 

"In  this  country  with  our  practical  understanding, 
there  is,  at  present,  a  great  sensualism,  a  headlong  de- 
votion to  trade  and  to  the  conquest  of  the  continent, — - 
to  each  man  as  large  a  share  of  the  same  as  he  can 
carve  for  himself, — an  extravagant  confidence  in  our 
talent  and  activity,  which  becomes,  whilst  successful,  a 
scornful  materialism.  .  .  .  The  American  marches 
with  a  careless  swagger  to  the  height  of  power,  very 
heedless  of  his  own  liberty  or  of  other  peoples*,  in  his 
reckless  confidence  that  he  can  have  all  he  wants,  risk- 
ing all  the  prized  charters  of  the  human  race,  bought 


Democracy  and  Justice  57 

with  battles  and  revolutions  and  religion, —  gambling 
all  away  for  a  paltry,  selfish  gain." 

By  1890,  however,  a  new  democratic  conscience  was 
beginning  to  express  itself.  It  was  a  conscience  that 
opposed  the  evils  of  the  new  material  prosperity  and 
power;  it  manifested  itself  frequently  in  hate  and  at- 
tack. Muck-raking  thrived ;  it  ultimately  grew  into  the 
constructive  social  survey.  Individuals  without  any 
acquaintance  with  social  science  expressed  themselves 
in  angry  opposition  to  the  Beef  Trust,  the  Oil  Trust, 
the  Steel  Trust.  The  Prohibition  movement  was  in  the 
fractious  Carrie  Nation  stage,  and  was  typical  of  much 
of  the  social  procedure  of  the  times.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  many  leading  Americans  still  manifested  the 
characteristics  of  Buffalo  Bill. 

The  apex  of  the  emphasis  upon  materialistic  power 
was  reached  in  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. At  that  time,  also,  there  came  the  climax  of  the 
imperialistic  tendencies  of  the  nation.  The  war  with 
Spain  caused  patriotism  in  the  United  States  to  become 
noticeably  inflated,  egotistic,  spectacular,  imperialistic. 
Many  individuals  proclaimed  the  ideal,  *'My  country, 
right  or  worng."  Representative  citizens  dreamed  of 
the  future  United  States  as  a  vast  w^orld  empire.  Many 
persons  believed  that  it  was  the  manifest  destiny  of 
their  country  to  release  one  small  nation  or  group  of 
peoples  after  another  from  political  bondage  and  to 
add  them  to  the  possessions  of  the  United  States. 

Materialism  and  imperialism  were  the  most  insid- 
ious foes  of  American  democracy  at  the  dawn  of  the 
twentieth  century.  In  speaking  of  these  dangers.  Royal 
Dixon    in    his    book,  Americanization,  said  that  "the 


58  Americanization 

threatened  wreck  of  the  entire  morale  of  the  repubHc 
in  graft,  dishonesty,  and  money  tyranny,  led  us  to  dis- 
cover one  sin  after  another  until  we  were  disgusted 
with  ourselves  as  a  nation."  Even  Elihu  Root  raised 
the  significant  question :  *'Have  selfish  living  and  fac- 
tional quarreling  obscured  the  spiritual  vision  of  our 
country  ?"  There  was  a  notorious  tendency  to  worship 
speed,  bigness,  extravagance.  Many  people  seemed  to 
worship  these  low  and  false  ideals  and  "to  place  them 
above  family  honor,  national  honor,  above  church, 
creed,  art,  letters,  music." 

The  United  States  has  probably  passed  safely 
through  the  perils  of  materialistic  machinations  and 
the.  dangers  of  imperialistic  desires.  After  becoming 
president  in  1901,  Theodore  Roosevelt  defied  the  en- 
trenched giants  of  political  and  economic  power,  inaug- 
urated, at  the  suggestion  of  Gifford  Pinchot,  the  con- 
servation movement,  proceeded  to  upset  established 
special  privilege,  and  re-defined  democracy  in  terms  of 
"the  square  deal  for  everybody." 

In  taking  a  stand  against  economic  autocracy  at 
home  and  political  autocracy  abroad,  Roosevelt  urged 
that  the  United  States  support  unflinchingly  the  right 
"whenever  the  right  is  menaced  by  the  might  which 
backs  wrong."  With  this  doctrine,  Roosevelt  coupled 
a  military  preparedness  interpretation  of  Americanism. 
The  only  way  that  the  United  States  can  oppose  suc- 
cessfully the  wrong  which  is  urged  forward  by  might, 
is  to  put  over  against  it  the  right  that  is  also  supported 
by  might.  Instead  of  putting  national  safety  first, 
Roosevelt  stood  for  national  honor  and  duty  first. 

There  are  three  main  elements  in  Americanism  as 


Democracy  and  Justice  59 

stated  in  his  Knights  of  Columbus  Speech  in  1915: 
(i)  the  estabHshment  of  a  common  language  —  the 
English  —  for  all  Americans;  (2)  the  increase  of  our 
national  and  social  loyalty  by  the  development  of  "a 
citizenship  which  acknowledges  no  flag  except  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  and  which  emphatically  repudiates 
all  duality  of  intention  or  national  unity";  and  (3) 
''an  intelligent  and  resolute  effort  for  the  removal  of 
industrial  and  social  unrest,  an  effort  which  shall  aim 
equally  at  securing  every  man  his  rights  and  to  make 
every  man  understand  that  unless  he  in  good  faith 
performs  his  duties  he  is  not  entitled  to  any  rights  at 
all."i 

Woodrow  Wilson  was  the  product,  in  part,  of 
Jeffersonian  and  Jacksonian  democracy.  His  party 
heritage  gave  promise  that  he  would  advance  the  cause 
of  democracy.  His  most  ardent  admirers,  however, 
did  not  suspect  the  degree  to  which  he  would  go  in 
extending  the  concept  of  democracy.  On  April  3, 
19 1 7,  before  both  houses  of  Congress  assembled  to- 
gether, he  declared  that  "the  world  must  be  made  safe 
for  democracy."  Nothing  smaller  than  the  world  was 
thereafter  to  be  the  laboratory  of  democracy.  "Our 
globe  has  shrunk  too  small  for  democratic  and  auto- 
cratic states  to  subsist  together,  nor  can  Ocean  herself 
constrain  them  in  separation."^ 


^It  was  in  Roosevelt  that  H.  G.  Wells  (Future  in  America,  p.  253) 
found  an  epitome  of  America's  strong  and  weak  points.  The  first  in- 
clude (1)  force,  (2)  sustained  courage,  (3)  integrity,  and  (4)  open 
intelligence;  the  latter  embrace  (1)  undisciplined  hastiness,  (2)  unfair- 
ness, (3)  prejudices,  and  (4)  frequent  errors. 

^H.  B.  Alexander,  "Americanism,"  New  Republic,  January  S,  1918, 
p.  271. 


6o  Americanization 

President  Wilson,  reading  the  mind  of  the  United 
States  aright  and  speaking  in  line  with  the  developing 
conception  of  democracy  and  justice  in  the  United 
States,  bade  defiance  in  his  now  classic  phrase  to  the 
strongholds  of  political  autocracy  the  world  around. 
Monroe  was  out-Monroed.  The  conception  of  democ- 
racy that  was  held  by  the  Pilgrim  liberty-seekers  was 
a  doctrine  applicable  primarily  to  themselves  alone. 
From  that  mustard  seed,  the  plant  has  grown  until  its 
branches  are  now  to  protect  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  From  democracy  for  one  hundred  persons,  to 
democracy  for  the  eighteen  or  nineteen  hundred  mil- 
lion people  of  the  world  —  such  is  the  unfolding  of  the 
conception  of  democracy  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
our  citizens. 

The  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  World  War. 
gave  rise  to  a  renaissance  of  democracy  and  justice 
that  will  ultimately  destroy  not  only  the  thrones  of 
political  but  of  other  types  of  autocracy  as  well.  These 
struggles,  however,  will  extend  over  many  decades  and 
even  centuries.  In  fact,  in  the  months  and  years  fol- 
lowing the  signing  of  the  Armistice  in  1918,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  suffered  greatly  from  the 
reactionary  effects  of  the  strain  and  tensions  of  the 
preceding  period  of  war.  Many  individuals  man- 
ifested a  return  to  the  principles  of  autocracy,  of  selfish 
nationalism,  and  of  greedy  materialism.  Orgies  of 
extravagance  occurred.  The  idealism  which  President 
Wilson  had  voiced  in  19 17  suffered  terrific  jolts.  Nev- 
ertheless, life  in  the  United  States  remained  sound.  A 
strong  undercurrent  of  rational  peace-time  patriotism 
developed. 


Democracy  and  Justice  6i 

The  analysis  of  democracy  and  justice  is  proceeding 
apace;  individuals  and  organizations  are  struggling 
forward,  through  democratic  means  to  new  and  more 
complete  forms  of  justice.  The  community  organiza- 
tion movement  is  giving  birth  to  a  new  sense  of  group 
and  neighborhood  consciousness.  The  culmination  of 
the  woman  suffrage  movement  is  a  distinct  victory  for 
justice  to  women.  The  broadcast  experiments  in  in- 
dustrial democracy  indicate  that  the  nation  is  sooner 
or  later  to  be  saved  from  the  injustices  of  capitalism 
as  well  as  from  the  injustices  of  Bolshevism. 

In  the  United  States,  democracy  is  assuming  several 
clear  outHnes.  The  practices  of  our  people  are  surely, 
but  slowly,  painfully,  and  vicariously  approaching  dem- 
ocratic ideals. 

(i)  The  best  known  type  is  political  democracy, 
which  regards  political  life  as  possessing  two  foci: 
one,  the  individual;  the  other,  the  nation-state.  The 
latter  exists  to  safeguard  and  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  personality.  The  liberty  of  the  individual  ends 
when  it  conflicts  with  the  welfare  of  majority  of  his 
fellows  in  any  group  of  which  he  may  be  a  member. 
Political  democracy  views  the  nation-state  as  the  to- 
tality of  legalized  relations  instituted  for  the  benefit  of 
the  citizenry.  While  it  recognizes  the  existence  of  in- 
herited inequality,  it  tries  to  guarantee  that  whatever 
inherited  equality  there  is  shall  be  preserved  in  all  the 
circumstances  of  life. 

In  the  United  States  today,  there  is  a  conflict  be- 
tween a  republican  democracy  and  a  democratic  democ- 
racy. In  these  terms,  there  is  no  special  reference  to 
political  parties.   According  to  the  theory  of  a  republi- 


62  American  iza  Ho  n 

can  democracy,  individuals  who  are  elected  to  office  are 
specialists  and  are  expected  to  vote  as  their  judgment 
dictates.  In  a  democratic  democracy,  the  elected  rep- 
resentatives are  expected  to  represent  the  judgment 
of  their  constituents.  The  first  mentioned  method  in- 
cludes the  Aristotelian  and  aristocratic  concept  of  gov- 
ernment by  the  best  few.  The  other  procedure  is  pure- 
ly democratic  in  principle  and  implies  that  the  ordinary 
citizen  is  able  to  express  his  independent  judgment  on 
all  public  questions  and  that  he  keeps  his  political  rep- 
resentatives informed  in  regard  to  his  attitudes  on  leg- 
islative questions. 

One  of  these  methods  Jthrows  the  actual  determina- 
tion of  legislation  into  the  hands  of  a  temporarily  aris- 
tocratic few,  who  will  be  tempted  to  act  secretly  and 
autocratically.  The  other  modus  operandi  puts  public 
decisions  into  the. hands  of  the  common  people  who 
may  not  have  the  education  or  the  inclination  to  decide 
independently  and  regularly  upon  public  questions. 
The  tendency  in  the  United  States  is  toward  a  dualistic 
use  of  these  two  forms  of  political  procedure,  whereby 
complex  technical  questions  are  left  to  specialists,  while 
broad,  fundamental  issues  are  referred  to  the  common 
people  for  decision. 

(2)  Religious  democracy  has  always  been  a  fun- 
damental principle  of  life  in  our  country.  It  includes 
the  right  to  worship  as  one's  conscience  and  judgment 
dictate  without  compulsion  from  others  or  from  the 
state.  The  religious  views  of  one  person  have  equaJ 
standing  before  the  law  with  those  of  every  other  per- 
son. 

Despite  the  fact,  however,  that  religious  groups  have 


Democracy  and  Justice  63 

often  been  undemocratic  in  both  their  beliefs  and  or- 
ganizations, they  have  been  manifesting  within  recent 
years  sincere  desires  and  successful  attempts  to  extri- 
cate themselves  from  dogmatic  attitudes  and  autocratic 
vi^ays.  Within  the  last  tv^o  or  three  decades  the  re- 
ligious bodies  in  the  United  States  have  been  slowly 
changing  their  own  nature,  making  it  democratic ;  and 
at  the  same  time,  they  have  been  speaking  with  in- 
creasing force  in  behalf  of  industrial  democracy  and 
of  democracy  in  all  the  other  main  phases  of  life. 

(3)  Ethical  democracy  in  the  United  States  sig- 
nifies that  there  is  one  right  for  all  men  everywhere, 
and  that  there  is  "one  ultimate  standard  of  righteous- 
ness for  all  the  world."  The  ethics  of  Christian  and 
Jewish  faiths  constitute  the  moral  foundations  of  the 
United  States.  In  1884,  James  Russell  Lowell,  the 
foremost  American  at  that  time,  proclaimed  Christ  the 
first  true  ethical  democrat  who  ever  lived.  The  wealthy 
and  the  poor,  the  distinguished  and  the  unknown 
are  tested  in  our  land  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion  by 
the  same  high  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  that  is, 
by  the  ethical  standards  of  the  Christian  and  Jewish 
religions. 

(4)  Personal  democracy  gives  adequate  oppor- 
tunity for  the  development  of  all  the  individual  and 
social  phases  of  one's  personality.  It  means  that  the 
individual  makes  a  fairly  accurate  evaluation  of  all  his 
powers  and  a  well-balanced,  consistent  expression  of 
them. 

As  an  ideal,  personal  democracy  is  an  outgrowth  of 
that  other  sentiment,  personal  liberty.  The  latter  is 
likely  to  become  arbitrary  and  anarchistic.     But  per- 


v: 


64  Americanization 

sonal  democracy  is  more  scientific  in  its  nature  and 
hence  more  sensible  and  social.  It  signifies  a  balanced 
expression  of  the  powers  of  the  individual,  and  it  also 
means  that  the  individual  in  his  self-assertion  and  de- 
mand  for  Ifberty  is  governed  by  the  welfare  ot  the 
other  members  of  all  the  groups  to  which  he  belongs. 

(5)  Intellectual  democracy  represents  the  princi- 
ple that  practically  every  individual  is  potentially  able 
to  appreciate  the  largest  intellectual  meanings  oi  life. 
Intellectual  democracy  also  means  that  "the  best  of 
culture  should  be  made  the  possession  of  all  the  peo- 
ple." While  it  does  not  overlook  mental  differences,  and 
would  not  reduce  all  individuals  to  a  level,  it  believes 
that  all  the  permanently  significant  ideas  should  be 
brought  and  can  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  all 
potentially  capable  persons. 

Intellectual  democracy  holds  that  all  individuals 
should  be  able  to  think  independently  and  to  make  in- 
dividual judgments  upon  the  leading  questions  of  the 
day.  Every  normal  individual  should  be  trained  to 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  major  public  problems 
of  his  time,  and  to  be  able  to  take  intelligent  attitudes 
toward  these  problems.  In  other  words,  the  success 
of  political  democracy,  for  example,  depends  directly 
on  the  development  of  intellectual  democracy.  The 
latter  is  a  barometer  of  the  former. 

The  ideal  of  intellectual  democracy  is  that  all  the 
people  should  have  access  to,  and  be  stimulated  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  best  and  the  most  useful  knowledge. 
This  ideal  in  the  United  States  signifies  that  we  shall 
have  a  nation  of  people,  all  of  whom  are  well-grounded 
in  the  principles  of  sound  individual  and  social  living, 


Democracy  and  Justice  65 

broad  in  sympathies  and  vision,  courageous  yet  kind, 
and  always  at  work  achieving  something  for  the  bet- 
terment of  the  nation  and  mankind.  To  this  end, 
the  United  States  is  officially  spending  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars  annually,  employing  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  teachers,  educating  one-fifth  of  her  pop- 
ulation at  any  given  time  during  the  school  year,  and 
developing  the  public  school  as  the  most  democratic 
institution  in  the  country. 

In  an  intellectual  democracy,  education  as  such  gives 
no  one  a  right  to  feel  a  superiority  over  his  fellow  cit- 
izens. It  gives  one  a  sane  and  kindly  vision  which 
impels  him  to  help  others  to  obtain  the  same  educa- 
tional advantages  which  he  has  enjoyed.  It  does  not 
permit  him  to  use  his  education  to  play  "smart  tricks" 
upon  his  fellow  beings,  to  exploit  the  unsophisticated 
in  any  line  of  activity,  or  to  parade  his  superiority  be- 
fore the  public.  It  increases  his  sense  of  obligation  to 
help  solve  public  problems. 

(6)  Industrial  democracy  is  an  organization  of  the 
economic  forces  of  the  country  about  human  values 
rather  than  about  things  or  monetary  values.  It  is 
opposed  to  an  aristocracy  of  wealth.  It  believes  that 
a  financial  autocracy  and  a  political  autocracy  are 
equally  bad  and  that  the  downfall  of  the  former  must 
follow  the  downfall  of  the  latter.  It  declares  that 
wealth  is  power  —  social  power,  and  that  the  holders 
of  wealth  are  under  special  obligations  to  the  public 
and  the  nation. 

The  following  principles  of  industrial  democracy  are 
being  worked  out  in  the  United  States: 


66  Americanization 

(a)  Human  values  are  more  important  than  ma- 
terial values. 

(b)  Property  must  not  be  acquired  at  the  expense 
of  human  lives. 

(c)  Property  must  not  be  used  to  blight  the  lives 
of  individuals. ' 

(d)  Not  equality  of  possession  but  equal  right  by 
labor  to  obtain  food,  air,  clothing,  and  the  physical  and 
spiritual  amenities  of  life. 

(e)  Paying  the  employee,  not  as  low  wages  as  he 
will  take,  but  as  much  as  he  earns. 

(f)  Giving  the  employee  a  voice  in  the  manage- 
ment of  industry. 

These  and  other  principles  of  industrial  democracy 
are  being  developed  on  the  basis  that  there  are  three 
vitally  concerned  factors,  namely,  labor,  capital,  and 
the  consumer  or  the  public.  The  first  place  of  import- 
ance is  being  given  to  the  needs  of  the  consumer;  the 
second,  to  the  human  element  in  production,  that  is,  to 
labor;  and  the  third,  to  stored  up  labor,  or  capital. 

(7)  Social  democracy  is  the  socialization  of  all  the 
opportunities  of  life.  It  denies  the  final  importance, 
according  to  J.  S.  Mackenzie,  of  social  distinctions, 
such  as  those  of  race,  sex,  nationality,  education,  abil- 
ity. It  leads  to  the  conservation  of  life  and  health, 
and  to  the  democratization  of  education  and  of  the  pro- 
duction and  consumption  of  economic  goods. 

Social  democracy  involves  acting  together.  The  de- 
velopment of  personalities  is  the  goal,  but  this  evolu- 
tion must  keep  within  the  lines  set  by  the  common 
good.  It  has  been  aptly  said  that  there  will  be  classes, 
but  no  one  class  shall  rule ;  there  will  be  class  divisions 


Democracy  and  Justice  67 

but  no  insurmountable  barriers  between  them;  there 
will  be  a  kingdom,  not  of  "kings"  but  of  persons.  Each 
member  of  a  social  democracy  will  have  a  full  oppor- 
tunity for  developing  all  his  potentially  useful  qualities. 
In  a  social  democracy,  individuals  strive  with  one  an- 
other in  the  development  of  the  richest  and  most  help- 
ful personalities. 

In  the  United  States,  social  democracy  has  meant  an 
increasing  degree  of  equality  in  the  home.  The  wife 
and  mother  is  now  being  considered  an  equal  in  author- 
ity and  responsibility  with  the  husband  and  father. 
We  are  passing  from  an  autocratic  to  a  democratic 
family  life. 

The  spirit  of  social  democracy  is  well  illustrated  in 
a  letter  from  one  of  our  wounded  American  heroes  of 
the  Argonne.  It  stated  that  in  a  trainload  of  wounded 
soldiers  who  were  speeding  homeward  across  the  plains 
of  our  country  there  was  no  mention  of  the  Mayflower, 
no  hint  of  ancestor  worship,  no  reference  to  anteced- 
ents, no  questioning  about  financial  or  social  status. 
**If  a  fellow  is  a  good  scout  and  a  square  shooter,  he 
is  at  once  admitted  into  the  great  fraternity  of  man." 

(8)  Spiritual  democracy  refers  to  the  ruler  ship  of 
the  highest  spiritual  value  in  life,  namely,  love.  Love 
surpasses  even  justice.  It  releases  the  spirit  of  the  in- 
dividual from  the  bondage  of  selfish  activities.  It  pro- 
duces genuinely  happy  and  progressive  community  life. 
In  the  United  States  there  are  many  people  who  have 
caught  the  spiritual  vision  not  only  for  their  own  lives 
but  for  their  nation. 

A  sense  of  spiritual  democracy  is  born  out  of  suffer- 
ing.  W.  L.  Stidger  in  his  Soldier  Silhouettes  on  Our 


68  Americanization 

Front  relates  the  incident  of  a  lad  who  went  through 
the  battle  of  Belleau  Wood.  He  came  through  alive, 
but  terribly  wounded.  His  face  was  ugly  to  look  upon. 
"I  may  look  awful,"  he  said,  "but  I'm  a  new  man  in- 
side. What  I  saw  out  there  in  the  woods  made  me 
different,  somehow.  I  saw  a  friend  stand  by  his  ma- 
chine-gun, with  a  whole  platoon  of  Germans  sweeping 
down  on  him,  and  he  never  flinched.  He  fired  that  old 
gun  until  every  bullet  was  gone  and  his  gun  was  red- 
hot.  I  was  lying  in  the  grass  where  I  could  see  it  all. 
I  saw  them  bayonet  him.  He  fought  to  the  last  against 
fifty  men,  but  thank  God,  he  died  a  man;  he  died  an 
American.  I  lay  there  and  cried  to  see  them  kill  him, 
but  every  time  I  think  of  that  fellow  it  makes  me  want 
to  be  more  of  a  man.  When  I  get  back  home  Fm  go- 
ing t6  give  my  life  to  some  kind  of  Christian  service. 
Fm  going  to  do  it  because  I  saw  that  man  die  so  brave- 
ly. If  he  can  die  like  that,  in  spite  of  my  face,  I  can 
live  like  a  man." 

These  ideals  of  democracy  and  justice  are  in  process 
of  development  in  the  United  States.  It  is  safe  to  state 
that  the  complete  ideal  in  any  case  has  not  been  at- 
tained, but  the  ideals  as  a  class  indicate  the  nature  and 
direction  of  the  fundamental  strivings  of  the  people  of 
our  nation. 

PROBLEMS 

1.  What  is  your  definition  of  democracy? 

2.  Can  democracy  be  efficient? 

3.  Why  did  the  Revolutionary  War  make  further 

revolution  unnecessary  in  this  country? 


Democracy  and  Justice  69 

Why  did  Jefferson  fail  to  include  the  Negro  in 
his  conception  of  democracy? 

5.  What  was  Lincoln's  chief  contribution  to  Amer- 

icanism ? 

6.  Illustrate  President  Roosevelt's  meaning  of  the 

term,  the  square  deal. 
Illustrate  President  Wilson's  phrase :  "The  world 

must  be  made  safe  for  democracy." 
Explain:  "Democracy  must  be  made  safe  for  the 

world." 
Would  it  be  possible  or  desirable  to  have  a  social 

democracy  without  classes? 

10.  Is  the  spirit  of  democracy  greater  in  the  United 

States  or  in  England? 

1 1 .  Has  the  spirit  of  democracy  in  the  United  States 

increased  or  decreased  since  the  close  of  the 
World  War? 

12.  What  phase  of  our  ideal  of  democracy  has  devel- 

oped the  most  in  the  last  ten  years? 

13.  How  can  a  student  personally  promote  the  spirit 

of  democracy  in  his  college  or  university? 


Chapter  V. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS :     INTERNATIONALISM 
AND  BROTHERHOOD 

A  nation  cannot  exist  without  developing  attitudes 
toward  and  relations  with  other  nations.  The  ideals 
which  are  disclosed  by  these  attitudes  and  practices 
constitute  a  nation's  internationalism. 

The  internationalism  of  the  United  States  received 
its  initial  and  official  recognition  through  Washington 
and  Jefferson.  They  agreed  that  the  United  States 
should  advance  her  commercial  interests  throughout 
the  world,  but  politically  she  should  hold  herself  aloof 
from  entangling  alliances.  In  any  relations  that  might 
arise  with  foreign  powers,  she  should  deal  honestly 
and  in  good  faith.  In  those  early  days  her  main  in- 
terest was  in  national  self-building. 

Monroe  and  Adams  added  a  new  factor.  They 
pointed  out  that  our  political  aims  and  structure  were 
different  from  the  prevailing  types  in  Europe  at  that 
time  —  and  thus  gave  an  added  reason  for  aloofness 
in  international  politics.  They  went  further  and  de- 
fined a  type  of  political  protectorate  for  the  United 
States  to  assume  over  the  democracies  to  her  south. 
She  was  not  to  meddle  in  European  situations,  and  in 
return,  the  European  nations  were  to  refrain  from 
meddling  with  the  affairs  of  any  American  republic. 

This  principle  has  been  tentatively  invoked  several 


Internationalism  and  Brotherhood  yi 

times.  In  1865- 1866,  it  was  used  to  cause  the  French' 
to  withdraw  from  Mexico.  In  1895,  President  Cleve- 
land clothed  the  Monroe  Doctrine  with  new  power 
when  he  announced  to  Great  Britain  and  the  world 
that  he  would  use  if  necessary  our  army  and  navy  in 
its  support.  As  a  result,  Great  Britain  consented,  al- 
though reluctantly,  to  respect  our  will  in  the  Venezuela 
controversy. 

During  the  administration  of  McKinley,  the  United 
States  announced  another  international  ideal  of  far- 
reaching  importance.  Spain  had  long  oppressed  the 
Cubans.  The  situation  was  growing  worse  and  the 
United  States  was  beginning  to  assert  itself,  when  the 
destruction  of  the  "Maine"  precipitated  war.  In  con- 
sequence, a  weak  people  was  freed  from  the  tyranny 
of  Spain.  Then  came  the  crucial  hour.  Should  we 
listen  to  the  clamor  of  the  imperialists,  and  annex  Cuba, 
as  victorious  nations  had  been  accustomed  to  do  in 
the  past?  No,  we  decided  that  we  would  set  Cuba  on 
her  feet  as  a  nation  and  guarantee  her  independence 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  By  this  decision  we 
demonstrated  our  national  unselfishness,  and  essen- 
tially created  a  new  international  ideal  for  the  world 
to  think  about  —  and  ultimately  to  adopt. 

With  new  clearness  President  Roosevelt  put  the 
ideal  of  international  justice  before  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  He  proclaimed  that  ''no  weak  nation 
that  ever  acts  manfully  and  justly  should  ever  have 
cause  to  fear  us,  and  no  strong  power  should  ever  be 
able  to  single  us  out  as  a  subject  for  insolent  aggres- 
sion." As  a  strong  nation  we  must  not  wrong  others, 
nor  allow  others  to  wrong  us.    We  shall  be  right  first 


y2  Americanization 

and  then  keep  our  whole  might  ready  to  defend  our- 
selves. 

President  Taft,  especially  in  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  represented  the  inter- 
national ideals  of  many  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
The  plan  of  the  American  League  to  Enforce  Peace 
supported  a  league  of  nations  in  which  all  agree :  ( i ) 
that  legal  international  controversies  shall  be  heard 
and  decided  by  a  court;  (2)  that  controversies  not 
to  be  settled  on  principles  of  law  shall  be  submitted 
to  a  commission  of  conciliation  who  shall  recom- 
mend a  settlement;  (3)  that  the  united  forces  of 
the  League  shall  resist  any  nation  which  begins  war 
before  the  quarrel  has  been  submitted  to  one  tribunal 
or  the  other,  and  has  been  decided.  This  plan  would 
enforce  peace  until  after  the  peaceable  procedure  of  ad- 
justment had  taken  place  and  a  decision  rendered.  It 
would  not  force  either  party  to  the  controversy  to 
abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  tribunal,  although  public 
opinion  would  operate  in  the  direction  of  enforcement. 
Further,  the  deliberation  and  the  accompanying  delay 
would  tend  to  prevent  almost,  all  wars. 

The  "treaty  plan"  of  internationalism  that  was  in- 
augurated by  William  J.  Bryan  proceeded  on  the  prop- 
osition that  the  United  States  should  make  treaties 
with  every  civilized  nation  to  the  effect  that  a  dispute 
of  any  kind  shall,  before  hostilities  begin,  be  submitted 
to  an  international  tribunal  for  an  investigation  and  a 
report.  The  plan  substituted  treaties  for  a  League, 
and  moral  suasion  for  compulsion. 

President  Wilson  voiced  an  international  ideal  for 
the  United  States  which  would  build  up  a  League  of 


Internationalism  and  Brotherhood  'j^ 

Nations  that  would  not  enforce  peace  so  much  as  it 
would  attract  all  democratic  nations  into  it.  No  na- 
tion would  want  to  be  left  out.  In  the  spirit  of  mutual 
friendliness,  not  of  jealousy,  the  nations  would  abide 
by  the  rules  of  the  League,  and  through  their  repre- 
sentatives would  work  out  principles  of  world  progress. 
Secondarily,  they  would  guarantee  the  peace  of  the 
world. 

By  this  internationalization  of  the  spirit  of  democ- 
racy, President  Wilson  definitely  made  the  United 
States  a  world  factor  in  the  struggle  for  democracy  in- 
stead of  a  world  force  for  imperial  dominion.  He  pro- 
claimed the  United  States  to  be  a  spirit  of  unselfish 
good  will  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  He  re- 
sponded to  Emerson's  call  for  men  of  original  per- 
ception and  action,  "who  can  open  their  eyes  wider 
than  to  a  nationality,  namely,  to  considerations  of 
benefit  to  the  human  race, —  can  act  in  the  interest  of 
civilization." 

To  liberty  for  the  individual,  co-operation  and  dem- 
ocracy within  the  nation.  President  Wilson  created  a 
new  ideal  —  an  international  ideal  —  when  he  openly 
and  forcefully  declared  for  an  organization  of  the 
world.  The  United  States  will  no  longer  consider 
world  problems  from  a  selfish  national  standpoint,  but 
from  the  standpoint  of  world  welfare.  President  Wil- 
son announced  that  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  is  not  a  selfish  thing,  for  her  own  national  use. 
He  defined  an  American  as  a  person  who  wants  to 
share  the  liberty  and  rights  he  enjoys  in  America  with 
the  whole  world,  who  wants  his  nation  to  keep  its 
promises  to  other  nations  even  to  its  own  loss,  and 


74  Americanization 

who  is  never  prouder  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  than 
when  it  means  to  other  nations  as  well  as  to  himself 
a  symbol  of  hope  and  liberty. 

The  United  States  will  achieve  her  highest  mission, 
according  to  the  ideal  of  internationalism  that  was 
enunciated  by  President  Wilson,  when  all  the  world 
shall  know  that  she  puts  human  rights  above  material 
and  all  other  rights  and  that  her  flag  is  the  flag  not 
only  of  the  United  States  but  of  humanity.  In  speak- 
ing to  newly  naturalized  citizens  in  191 5  in  Philadel- 
phia, President  Wilson  gave  the  paradoxical  injunc- 
tion, **not  only  always  to  think  first  of  America,  but 
always,  also,  to  think  first  of  humanity."  The  cause 
of  the  United  States  is  not  confined  to  the  American 
continent,  but  is  nothing  less  than  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity. No  American  should  feel  any  exhilaration  in 
belonging  to  America,  if  he  does  not  feel  that  she  is 
"something  more  than  a  rich  and  powerful  nation." 

In  defining  American  ideals  in  terms  of  making  the 
world  safe  for  democracy  and  of  organizing  the  friend- 
ship of  the  world.  President  Wilson  pushed  American- 
ism to  its  highest  expression.  In  addition  to  inter- 
national justice,  he  spoke  in  terms  of  international 
friendship  and  love.  According  to  this  ideal,  the  United 
States  has  no  selfish  national  ends  to  serve.  She  de- 
sires no  conquest  and  no  dominion.  She  seeks  no  in- 
demnities for  herself  and  no  material  compensation 
for  the  sacrifices  which  she  shall  freely  make  in  fight- 
ing the  battles  of  democracy.  She  is  but  "one  of  the 
champions  of  the  rights  of  mankind." 

Imperialistic  machinations  by  the  United  States  were 
set  at  rest  by  President  Wilson.  He  publicly  and  official- 


Internationalism  and  Brotherhood  75 

ly  stated  that  the  United  States  did  not  seek  to  spread 
her  ideals  by  first  making  political  conquests,  but  that 
she  has  reversed  this  notorious  policy  which  has  been 
in  vogue  in  the  world  from  the  days  of  Hammurabi 
to  Wilhelm'  11.  Americanism  today  signifies  that  the 
United  States  is  to  proceed  in  the  direction  of  world 
friendship,  co-operation,  and  usefulness,  by  sacri- 
ficing without  stint  to  help  any  nation  in  the  fight  of 
right  against  might  and  of  democratic  control  against 
autocratic  domination.  The  only  empire  to  which  she 
aspires  is  that  which  exists  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
grateful  peoples. 

Furthermore,  the  lead  that  has  been  taken  by  the 
United  States  in  announcing  a  policy  of  having  nc 
selfish  national  ends  to  serve  will  sooner  or  later  be 
followed  by  all  self-respecting  nations.  No  nation  of 
standing  will  dare  to  fall  far  behind  the  example  set 
by  the  United  States  in  matters  of  internationalism 
and  brotherhood. 

The  love  of  peace  is  a  phase  of  the  ideals  of  inter- 
nationalism and  brotherhood  that  have  been  voiced 
by  our  country.  While  we  have  fought  several  wars, 
we  have  usually  striven  faithfully  to  avoid  war.  We 
are  a  peace-loving  people.  In  order  to  maintain  the 
peace  of  the  world,  we  believe  that  the  nations  should 
speak  openly  and  frankly  to  each  other,  that  they 
should  not  stand  too  much  on  national  pride,  that  they 
should  give  up  the  balance  of  power  scheme  for  an 
organization  of  friendship. 

Internationalism  as  a  phase  of  Americanism  is  still 
in  an  undeveloped  form.  It  is  still  almost  entirely  a 
political  concept.     At  various  times  the  United  States 


y6  'Americanization 

has  been  called  upon  to  decide  whether  ( i )  to  form 
permanently  defensive  and  offensive  alliances  with  spe- 
cific countries,  or  (2)  to  co-operate  temporarily  with 
this  or  that  group  of  countries  long  enough  to  attain 
a  specific  object,  or  (3)  to  decide  what  role  she  shall 
play  in  a  League  of  Nations.  The  first  method  she 
has  avoided ;  the  second,  she  has  on  occasion  adopted ; 
and  the  third,  she  has  favorably  considered.  Accord- 
ing to  the  ideal  of  internationalism  stated  by  President 
Wilson,  the  United  States  should  lead  the  world  in  a 
just  organization  of  all  the  democratic  nations.  In  this 
organization  she  should  endeavor  to  safeguard  all  the 
social  values  that  are  found  in  nationalism  and  at  the 
same  time  to  protect  the  nations  from  the  worst  forces 
that  exist  in  any  of  the  nations  or  in  any  combination 
of  them. 

Brotherhood,  with  its  implication  of  love,  as  a  phase 
of  Americanism  is  still  pretty  much  of  a  myth.  It  has 
not  yet  been  widely  practiced.  It  signifies,  in  the  words 
of  David  Jayne  Hill,  that  the  United  States  shall  lead 
the  peoples  of  the  world  "in  making  human  life  safer, 
human  endeavor  loftier,  human  suffering  less  cruel, 
human  toil  more  equitably  rewarded,  and  human  fra- 
ternity more  real,  more  noble,  and  more  sincere." 

From  liberty-loving  Americanism  to  world-loving 
Americanism  is  a  broad  sweep.  Both  extremes  must 
be  preserved  and  developed  and  made  continually  to 
revolve  about  the  solid  center  of  a  co-operative  and 
democratic  nation-state.  By  itself,  either  extreme 
might  lead  to  fatal  weakness.  The  first,  alone,  be- 
comes anarchism,  autocracy,  materialism.  The  second, 
by  itself,  becomes  fanciful,  visionary,  and  impractica- 


Internationalism  and  Brotherhood  yy 

ble.  Sometimes  the  United  States  has  been  called  util- 
itarian and  sometimes  idealistic.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
she  is  both.  She  is  engaged  in  combining  the  two 
conflicting  principles  into  a  balanced  and  single  sys- 
tem.   She  is  working  out  a  utilitarian  idealism. 

Utility  has  been  at  times  an  omnipresent  standard 
In  the  United  States.  It  has  occasionally  crushed  out 
idealism.  It  has  resulted  in  ignoble  deference  to  ma- 
terial success.  In  Chapter  VII,  several  types  of  prac- 
tices will  be  described  which  indicate  the  degree  to 
which  idealism  even  now  is  being  ignored  in  the 
United  States.  The  over-emphasis,  however,  upon 
utility,  as  opposed  to  ideals,  has  been  enervating  but 
not  fatal.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  whenever  a 
crisis  has  arisen,  the  underlying  idealism  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  has  come  to  the  surface  with  an 
alacrity  and  a  strength  that  has  set  the  nation  right 
and  surprised  the  world. 


PROBLEMS 

1.  How  do  you  define  internationalism? 

2.  What  different  types  of  internationalism  can  you 

name? 

3.  Why  has  the  term,  internationalist,  been  in  dis- 

repute among  certain  people? 

4.  What  attitude  should  be  taken  toward  Washing- 

ton's injunction  to  avoid  entangling  alliances? 

5.  By  what  right  has  the  United  States  enforced 

the  Monroe  Doctrine? 


yS  Americanization 

6.  What  is  the  chief  difference  between  the  Roose- 

veltian  and  the  Wilsonian  ideal  of  internation- 
alism? 

7.  Can  there  be  a  higher  and  larger  definition  of 

Americanism  than  that  of  President  Wilson? 

8.  Why  did  the  United  States  verge  toward  impe- 

rialism at  the  close  of  the  Spanish-American 
war? 

9.  W^hat  is  the  relation  of  internationalism  to  the 

brotherhood  of  man  principle? 

10.  Should  the  United  States  in  her  desire  for  world 

advancement  agree  to  some  law  by  treaty  which 
is  unfair  to  her  own  interests? 

1 1 .  What  advantages  does  the  United  States  possess 

for  the  task  of  leading  the  world  toward  a  gen- 
uine internationalism? 

12.  Is  it  possible  to  think  first  of  the  United  States  and 

at  the  same  time  to  think  first  of  the  interests 
of  humanity? 

13.  Wliy  does  our  underlying  idealism  come  to  the 

surface  only  in  time's  of  national  crisis? 

14.  Under   the  present  world   economic  conditions, 

can  a  League  of  Nations  succeed  ? 

15.  Why  have  the  attempts  in  the  past  to  secure  in- 

ternational peace  failed? 

16.  Should  we  strive  for  a  brotherhood  of  nations,  or 

a  brotherhood  of  individuals? 

17.  Will    the    culmination    of    internationalism    and 

brotherhood  be  one  race  and  one  civilization  ? 

18.  Will  we  have  real  internationalism  and  brother- 

hood until  the  entire  world  accepts  Christianity  ? 

19.  What  would  you  say  is  the  dominant  ideal  of  the 

people  of  the  United  States  today? 


PART  II 

THE  NATIVE-BORN  AND  AMERICAN 
IDEALS 

Chapter  VI 

A  RACIAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES 


It  is  necessary  to  introduce  Parts  Two  and  Three 
with  a  discussion  of  the  racial  history  of  the  United 
States.  Before  we  consider  each  leading  racial  group 
in  our  country  in  its  relations  to  American  ideals,  it 
will  be  helpful  to  get  an  historical  view  of  the  coming 
of  the  various  races  to  our  shores. 

There  were  originally  no  native  races  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent.  At  an  early  date,  peoples  of  Mongo- 
lian type  migrated  to  America  either  by  way  of 
Europe  when  Europe  and  America  were  connected  by 
land ;  or  by  way  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  having  drifted 
across ;  or  more  probably,  by  way  of  Alaska  when  Asia 
and  Alaska  were  joined  by  land.  The  original  pio- 
neers became  the  ancestors  of  the  mound-builders,  who 
in  turn  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Indians.  The  first 
inhabitants  of  what  is  now  the  United  States  were  the 
early  ancestors  of  the  Indian. 


8o  Americanizaiion 

About  looo  A.  D.,  daring  representatives  of  the 
Scandinavian  races  became  the  second  discoverers  of 
America.  They  were  not  ready,  or  not  able,  to  make 
settlements.  After  having  been  discovered  by  un- 
known Mongolians,  and  by  Scandinavians,  America 
was  discovered  for  the  third  time  by  Italian  and  Span- 
ish navigators  under  the  leadership  of  Christopher 
Columbus.  It  was  these  voyagers  who  opened  Amer- 
ica to  European  civilization.  In  this  connection  the 
first  settlements  were  made  by  Spanish  colonists  —  the 
second  racial  group,  after  the  Mongolian,  to  become 
established  in  America.  Being  southerners,  they  set- 
tled in  Florida,  New  Mexico,  and  California.  They 
founded  the  first  and  oldest  European  towns  in  the 
United  States  —  St.  Augustine,  Florida ;  Chamita, 
New  Mexico ;  and  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

The  French  established  trading  posts  in  Mississippi 
Valley,  following  the  explorations  of  La  Salle  in  1582. 
This  territory  remained  in  French  hands  until  1803, 
the  year  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase.  The  Huguenots, 
sometimes  called  the  Puritans  of  France,  came  to 
America  in  the  seventeenth  century,  settling  chiefly  in 
South  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  New  York. 

The  English  were  the  third  race  to  settle  within 
the  present  boundaries  of  our  national  domain.  Their 
early  settlements  in  1607,  1620,  1630  laid  the  founda- 
tions which  gave  the  United  States  its  characteristic 
tendencies. 

The  Hollanders  set  up  trading  posts  along  the  Hud- 
son River  in  the  decade  following  the  exploration  in 
1609  of  that  river,  and  established  a  colony  which  came 
into  the  hands  of  the  English  in  1664. 


Racial  History  of  the  United  States  8i 

In  1 6 19,  a  few  Negroes  were  brought  to  America 
by  Dutch  traders.  The  slave  traffic  increased  with  the 
succeeding  years.  By  1790,  the  Negro  population  of 
the  country  had  reached  757,000,  or  19  per  cent  of 
the  entire  population  —  a  higher  percentage  than  has 
since  obtained. 

Swedish  voyagers  settled  on  the  Delaware  River  in 
1838,  and  established  a  colony  which  ultimately 
came  under  English  control.  These  people  constituted 
the  second  Scandinavian  group  to  migrate  to  America. 
After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  third,  largest,  and 
final  Scandinavian  migration  began. 

At  the  behest  of  the  agents  of  William  Penn,  Ger- 
man immigrants  came  from  the  Palatinate  region  m 
1682.  Germantown  was  their  chief  settlement.  The 
German  migration,  however,  did  not  culminate  until 
1854  and  1882. 

The  Scotch-Irish  migrated  in  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  came  in  larger  numbers  than 
any  other  race  in  that  century.  The  largest  influx  ar- 
rived about  1 7 18  and  17 19.  They  came  chiefly  to  the 
localities  of  which  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  were 
the  centers.  They  migrated  westward  into  the  unset- 
tled portions  of  Pennsylvania,  crossed  the  mountains 
into  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  and  thence  into 
the  Middle  West.  Among  the  pioneers  of  the  West- 
ward Movement  in  our  country,  the  Scotch-Irish  were 
the  chief.  Many  of  their  numbers  traversed  the  val- 
leys into  the  Appalachian  fastnesses  and  together 
with  early  Anglo-Saxons  became  the  ancestors  of  the 
present-day  Appalachian  mountaineers. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  Republic,  immigration 


82  Americanization 

averaged  about  7,000  persons  a  year.  About  200,000 
immigrants,  according  to  the  best  estimate,  came  to 
the  United  States  during  the  entire  period  between 
1789  and  1820. 

The  first  actual  figures  of  immigration  were  secured 
for  the  year  1820.  In  that  initial  annual  statement,  the 
coming  of  8,385  immigrants  is  recorded.  The  United 
Kingdom  furnished  6,024  of  that  number;  Germany, 
968;  France,  371;  and  Spain,  139.  A  student  of  the 
history  of  immigration  could  make  several  significant 
comparisons  between  this  brief  table  of  figures  and 
the  recent  annual  reports  on  immigration  of  four  hun^ 
dred  pages  each,  or  with  the  statistics  for  the  year 
1914,  when  1,218,000  immigrants  arrived. 

The  first  marked  rise  in  immigration  occurred  in  1827 
and  1828,  following  a  commercial  depression  in  Eng- 
land. In  1842,  the  one  hundred  thousand  level  was 
passed.  The  year  1854  marks  the  culmination  of  a 
high  tide  which  held  the  record  of  immigration  until 
1873.  In  1854,  more  than  427,000  immigrants  ar- 
rived. 

The  leading  causes  of  this  large  immigration  were 
two-fold.  The  potato  famine  and  the  economic  op- 
pression in  Ireland  in  1846  and  in  the  succeeding  years 
caused  a  large  Irish  emigration.  In  1851,  272,000  Irish 
came  to  the  United  States  and  constituted  the  largest 
Irish  immigration  in  any  ope  year  to  our  country. 
The  other  cause  of  increased  immigration  to  the  United 
States  was  the  political  revolution  in  the  German 
states  which  began  in  1848.  In  1854,  the  number  of 
Germans  who  came  was  215,000,  a  number  which  has 
been  exceeded  but  once  —  in  1882.     In  1854,  over  87 


Racial  History  of  the  United  States  83 

per  cent  of  the  total  immigration  was  furnished  by  the 
two  sources,  Irish  and  German. 

Until  1850,  immigrants  came  to  the  United  States 
in  sailing  vessels.  As  late  as  1864,  the  majority  were 
still  coming  in  sailing  vessels,  but  in  the  following 
year  the  majority  migrated  in  steamships.  This  change 
in  the  means  of  transportation  lessened  greatly  the 
dangers  of  crossing  the  Atlantic.  It  also  meant  that 
American  owned  ships  lost  first  place  in  carrying  im- 
migrants. 

Immigration  reached  a  low  point  during  the  Civil 
War  but  rapidly  increased  during  the  years  which  fol- 
lowed the  close  of  the  war.  In  1873,  nearly  460,000 
immigrants  were  admitted.  The  completion  of  the  first 
transcontinental  railroad,  the  opening  and  development 
of  the  West,  and  the  returning  prosperity  after  the 
war  were  the  chief  causes  of  the  influx  which  reached 
its  height  in  1873.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  third 
and  largest  immigration  of  the  Scandinavians  began. 
Then  came  an  industrial  panic  which  resulted  in  de- 
creased  immigration. 

In  1882,  the  immigration  figures  made  a  new  record; 
they  exceeded  788,000.  At  this  time,  Scandinavian 
immigration  reached  its  highest  point.  The  develop- 
ment of  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  and  the  neighboring 
states  was  the  strong  attraction  to  the  Scandinavians. 
At  this  time,  also,  German  migration  reached  its  great- 
est height.  The  Hebrews,  partly  because  of  severe 
persecutions  in  Russia,  contributed  in  increasing  num- 
bers to  the  stream  of  immigration.  The  Chinese  im- 
migration which  began  with  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California,  which  increased  rapidly  at  the  time  of  the 


84  Americanization 

railroad  expansion,  culminated  in  1882.  That  year 
also  marks  the  passage  of  the  first  Chinese  Exclusion 
Act  and  the  adoption  of  the  first  inclusive  federal  im- 
migration law. 

For  many  other  reasons,  the  year  1882  is  remarkable 
in  immigration  history.  It  was  a  central  date  in  the 
shifting  in  the  sources  of  immigration:  (a)  from 
Western  Europe  to  Eastern  and  Southern  Europe;  (b) 
from  countries  with  representative  institutions  and 
popular  governments  to  countries  under  the  control  of 
absolute  monarchs;  (c)  from  lands  where  education 
was  more  or  less  universal  to  lands  where  illiteracy 
prevailed;  (d)  from  races  chiefly  Teutonic  to  races 
chiefly  Italic,  Slavic,  and  Semitic;  and  (e)  from  Prot- 
estant sources  to  Catholic  sources. 

After  1882  the  number  of  immigrants  decreased,  but 
was  mounting  upward  again  when  halted  by  the  indus- 
trial depression  from  1894  to  1898.  With  returning 
prosperity,  there  came  another  rise  in  immigration, 
which  in  1905  passed  the  million  level  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  country.  The  increase  con- 
tinued and  in  1907  the  unprecedented  number  of 
1,250,000  immigrants  arrived.  The  panic  in  that  year 
temporarily  brought  a  decline  in  immigration.  For 
many  months  after  the  industrial  depression  came, 
there  were  man^^  more  immigrants  who  left  the  coun- 
try than  who  entered  it. 

The  immigration  figures  again  increased,  and  again 
exceeded  a  million  annually  in  1910,  1913,  and  1914. 
The  outbreak  of  the  war  in  Europe  brought  down  the 
annual  number  of  immigrants  to  about  one-third  of 
a  million.     The  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the 


Racial  History  of  the  United  States  85 

World  War  still  further  reduced  immigration  —  to 
almost  100,000,  or  about  the  figures  for  1842.  Since 
the  World  War  ended,  immigration  has  been  increas- 
ing, despite  hindrances  such  as  restrictive  immigration 
laws,  economic  unrest,  the  suppression  of  radical  re- 
form movements,  the  high  cost  of  living,  and  the  dif- 
ficulties in  securing  transportation  accommodations 
from  Europe.  On  the  other  hand,  large  numbers  of 
aliens  in  the  United  States  have  been  returning  to 
Europe. 

The  Japanese  immigration  began  about  1890  and 
assumed  noticeable  proportions  by  1900.  In  recent 
years  the  annual  immigration  of  Japanese  has  ex- 
ceeded 10,000.  However,  several  thousand  Japan- 
ese return  to  Japan  each  year.  The  Japanese  locate 
chiefly  in  California. 

The  Mexicans  began  to  migrate  to  the  United  States 
about  1890.  El  Paso  and  Los  Angeles  are  their  lead- 
ing centers.  They  have  come  as  a  result  of  the  labor 
needs  in  the  Southwestern  States. 

A  study  of  the  immigration  statistics  for  a  year  that 
is  typical  of  the  immigration  movement  when  it  was 
large,  such  as  the  year  19 14,  shows  noteworthy  facts. 
In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the 
immigration  figures  apply  to  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30  and  not  to  the  calendar  year.  In  19 14,  over 
250,000  immigrants  came  from  each  of  three  countries, 
namely,  Italy,  Austria-Hungary,  and  Russia.  The 
other  European  countries  offered  no  close  competition ; 
the  next  in  numerical  order  were  England,  Greece,  and 
Germany  —  each  sending  about  the  same  number,  35,- 
000.     From  the  standpoint  of  races,  as  distinguished 


86  AmericamgaHon 

from  the  countries  from  which  the  immigrants  come, 
the  Italians  ranked  first,  296,000;  the  Hebrews,  second, 
138,000;  the  Poles,  third,  122,000;  the  Germans, 
fourth,  79,000;  the  Enjs^lish,  fifth,  51,000. 

The  intended  future  residence  by  states  of  the  aliens 
who  were  admitted  in  19 14  shows  that  over  600,000 
immigrants  went  to  three  states — New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Illinois.  In  other  words,  the  gigantic  cur- 
rent of  immigration  poured  into  the  already  over- 
crowded centers  of  population,  and  congregated  in 
racial  colonies,  apart  from  the  best  elements  of  Amer- 
ican life.  The  statistics  relative  to  the  places  of  in- 
tended future  residence  of  the  immigrants  speak  for- 
cibly of  the  need  of  distributive  measures.  In  1914 
alone,  over  344,000  aliens  came  to  New  York,  chiefly 
New  York  City. 

In  this  same  year,  the  aliens  who  were  admitted 
were  divided  between  the  two  sexes  in  the  proportion 
of  about  two  to  one  in  favor  of  the  males  —  nearly 
800,000  being  males.  The  influx  of  this  over-propi^r- 
tion  of  males,  year  after  year,  has  in  the  last  century 
amounted  to  many  millions  and  has  had  serious  social 
results. 

In  regard  to  ages,  it  may  be  noted  that  nearly  1,000,- 
000  aliens  of  the  total  1,218,000  who  came  in  19 14 
were  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  forty-four. 
Other  things  being  equal,  it  has  been  a  great  asset  to 
the  country  that  a  high  percentage  of  immigrants  has 
belonged  to  the  productive  years  of  life. 

In  a  normal  year  more  alien  immigrants  have  been 
admitted  to  the  United  States  than  have  been  admitted 
in  that  year  to  all  other  countries  of  the  world  com- 


Racial  History  of  the  United  States  87 

billed.  During  the  years  which  immediately  preceded 
the  outbreak  of  the  World  War,  it  appears  that  more 
persons  migrated  from  the  United  States  for  the  pur- 
pose of  residing  in  other  countries  than  migrated  from 
any  other  nation,  not  excepting  Italy,  Austria-Hun- 
gary, or  Russia.  For  several  years  the  annual  number 
of  emigrants  from  the  United  States  exceeded  300,- 
000.  The  aliens  who  leave  th^  country  to  reside  per- 
manently elsewhere,  usually  in  the  count'ries  from 
which  they  originally  came,  have  belonged  chiefly  to 
the  Italian,  Greek,  Polish,  Magyar,  Russian  and  Jugo- 
slav races.  The  North  European  races  and  the  He- 
brews rank  lowest  in  the  emigration  movement. 

The  extensive  emigration  from  the  United  States 
shows  that  our  country  has  been  failing  to  win  the 
loyalty  of  large  numbers  of  immigrants.  They  have 
come  to  make  money,  and  in  making  money  they  have 
learned  to  scorn  us.  The  emigration  figures  when 
subtracted  from  the  immigration  figures,  often  leave 
the  latter  very  small.  For  example,  in  19 19,  the  total 
immigration  amounted  to  237,000,  but  there  was  also 
a  total  emigration  of  216,000,  or  a  net  gain  in  popula- 
tion from  the  aliens  of  only  about  21,000.  For  months 
at  a  time,  the  emigrants  sometimes  exceed  the  immi- 
grants in  number,  and  the  population  of  the  country 
would  suffer  a  noticeable  decrease,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  birth-rate.. 

The  time  has  already  arrived  when  the  best  condi- 
tions in  many  European  countries,  for  example,  in 
England,  or  even  in  Czechoslovakia,  are  much  superior 
to  the  worst  conditions  in  the  over-crowded  quarters 
of  our  largest  cities,  where  many  immigrants  congre- 


88  Americanization 

gate  when  they  come  to  the  United  States.  Conse- 
quently, the  inducements  to  immigrate  are  decreasing. 
When  the  economic  conditions  in  the  old  and  the  new 
countries  of  the  world  become  somewhat  similar,  mi- 
gration, as  a  world  phenomenon  will  become  largely 
historical. 

Under  present  conditions  we  can  admit  safely  only 
a  few  hundred  thousand  immigrants  a  year.  Several 
years  ago  the  United  States  reached  the  point  where 
all  aliens  who  desired  to  come,  could  not  be  freely  ad- 
mitted. We  are  unable  to  continue  as  an  asylum  for 
the  oppressed  of  other  races  and  nations.  Our  own 
free  land  is  exhausted,  our  industrial  opportunities  do 
not  ward  off  serious  unemployment  situations.  The 
needy  and  poor  are  being  recruited  in  increasing  num- 
bers from  our  native-born  population  —  as  a  result  of 
our  own  economic  and  social  maladjustments. 

It  is  our  plain  duty  and  opportunity  to  build  up  our 
economic  and  social  order  on  scientific  and  sociological 
principles.  We  can  also  make  Americanism  in  daily 
life  so  attractive  that  practically  every  immigrant 
will  Americanize  himself.  When  our  socio-economic 
processes  operate  soundly,  and  when  a  sane  American- 
ization procedure  reaches  throughout  the  nation,  we 
shall  be  able  again  to  invite  immigration. 


Racial  History  of  the  United  States  89 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  did  not  the  first  discoverers  of  America  de- 

velop a  high  type  of  civilization? 

2.  Why  did  not  the  second  discoverers  of  America 

make  permanent  settlements  ? 

3.  Were  there  any  special  reasons  why  the  third 

discoverers  of  America  were  Italians  and  Span- 
iards? 

4.  What  were  the  leading  races  in  order  of  inVport- 

ance  whose  representatives  immigrated  in  Colo- 
nial days? 

5.  What  was  Franklin's  attitude  toward  immigra- 

tion? 

6.  Why  did  the  United   States  first  undertake  to 

count  the  number  of  immigrant  arrivals? 

7.  When  did  immigration  figures  for  the  first  time 

reach  ioo.ckx)?    500,000?    1,000,000? 

8.  How  has  the  center  of  emigration  in  Europe  mi- 

grated in  the  last  century? 

9.  Why    have  Canadians    migrated    to    the  United 

States? 

10.  Why  has  inter-migration  between  Canada  and 

the  United  States  decreased? 

11.  What  races  have  migrated  to  the  United  States 

in  the  largest  numbers? 

12.  What  race  of  Southern  and  Eastern  Europe  has 

sent  the  most  desirable  type  of  immigrant? 

13.  Has  the  United  States  a  scientific  justification 

for  excluding  immigrants  on  the  basis  of  race 
or  nationality? 

14.  Explain:     "The  story  of  the  United   States  is 

the  story  of  the  foreigners." 


Chapter  VII 
THE  AVERAGE  AMERICAN 

The  next  logical  step  is  to  analyze  the  traits  of  the 
various  races  in  the  United  States  which  today  are 
making  or  destroying  American  ideals.  There  are  two 
main  groups,  the  native-born  and  the  foreign-born. 
The  native-born,  who  will  be  considered  first,  will  be 
presented  under  four  headings  in  as  many  chapters ;  the 
average  American,  the  Indian,  the  Negro,  and  the 
mountaineer. 

The  term,  average  American,  is  here  used  to  in- 
clude the  native-born  Americans,  excepting  the  Indi- 
ans, Negroes,  and  mountaineers.  It  also  refers  to  the 
rank  and  file,  to  the  mass,  to  the  common  variety  of 
natives,  more  than  to  the  criminal  classes  or  to  the 
pre-eminently  social  classes.  It  refers  to  those  whose 
sentiments  and  beliefs  constitute  in  a  large  way  the 
public  opinion  which  prevails  at  any  given  time. 

Average  Americans  are  persons  of  whom  it  might 
be  said  that  Americanization  does  not  apply.  At  first 
thought  it  would  seem  that  average  Americans  aie  al- 
ready Americanized,  and  that  Americanization  should 
start  from  them,  not  with  them.  But  are  all  Ameri- 
cans satisfactorily  Americanized?  And  must  not  they 
set  the  correct  examples  of  Americanism  if  the  immi- 
grants are  to  become  good  Americans  ? 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  Americanization  is 
a  process,  in  part,  of  adopting  American  ideals,  and 


The  Average  American  91 

that  all  native-born,  as  well  as  foreign-born,  must  ex- 
perience this  process.  Many  average  Americans  have 
not  reached  a  very  high  point  on  the  scale  of  Ameri- 
canism, while  some  immigrants  have  reached  a  higher 
point  than  have  average  Americans. 

Americans  vary  widely  in  type  —  as  much  as  aliens. 
They  vary  from  the  highly  loyal,  public-minded,  so- 
cialized persons  to  the  mean  wretch  who  preys  upon 
his  kind  and  society,  or  to  the  gilded  "gentleman"  who 
moves  in  the  best  circles,  but  is  in  fact  a  moral  repro- 
bate, or  a  profiteer.  Moreover,  every  American  is 
moving  either  upward  or  downward,  as  judged  by  his 
daily  acts,  in  his  loyalty  to  American  principles.  Many 
persons  are  improving  the  qualities  of  our  national  life; 
others  are  degrading  our  precious  standards.  All 
Americans  can  be  better  Americans. 

The  ideals  of  the  average  American  have  already 
been  presented  in  four  chapters  of  this  book.  These 
ideals  should  be  kept  in  mind  as  the  sunshine  in  the 
picture  which  this  chapter  discloses.  In  order  truly 
to  describe  the  average  American,  his  ideal  side  must 
be  supplemented  by  some  of  his  unpleasant  traits. 
Further,  it  is  these  unfortunate  traits  which  affect  pow- 
erfully the  immigrant  in  tlie  process  of  becoming 
American. 

If  the  Indians  are  to  become  enthusiastic  in  their 
loyalty  to  the  United  States,  they  must  not  be  allowed 
to  suffer  from  economic  exploitation,  or  from  short- 
sighted Americanism;  they  must  get  their  conceptions 
of  American  standards  from  large-hearted,  broad- 
minded  American  leaders.  If  American  Negroes  who 
composed  about  one-tenth  of  our  armies  in  the  World 


92  -  Americanization 

War  and  who  today  represent  approximately  ten  per 
cent  of  our  total  population,  are  to  become  effective 
links  in  our  national  chain,  they  must  not  get  their 
Americanism  through  lynch  procedure  and  race  preju- 
dice, but  from  Americans  who  thoroughly  understand 
the  problems  of  race  assim.ilation.  If  the  mountaineers 
are  to  emerge  from  their  eighteenth  century  life  into 
twentieth  century  Americanism,  the  invitation  must 
not  be  given  tardily  in  the  wake  of  the  blunt,  crush- 
ing penetrations  of  commercialism,  but  through  the 
sympathetic  and  painstaking  efforts  of  public  educa- 
tors. 

If  the  European  alien  within  our  gates  is  to  con- 
tribute his  life  and  ideals  to  Americanism,  he  must 
be  protected  from  unscrupulous  bosses,  agents,  pa- 
drones,  soap-box  orators,  and  be  given  at  the  work- 
bench, in  the  street  car,  and  everywhere  a  daily  inter- 
pretation of  an.  Americanism  ringing  with  the  principles 
of  liberty,  union,  democracy,  and  brotherhood.  If  the 
Asiatic  immigrant  is  to  be  inducted  into  the  body  pol- 
itic, the  leaders  in  charge  must  not  be  narrow-minded 
American  patrioteers,  but  large-gauge,  world-visioned 
American  patriots.  Nothing  on  the  part  of  Americans 
except  a  consistent,  daily  attitude  begotten  of  love  will 
so  effect  the  un-American  native  or  alien  that  he  will 
naturally  and  willingly  give  up  his  former  life,  break 
home  ties  if  necessary,  and  assume  the  responsibilities 
of  whole-hearted  citizenship  in  our  democracy. 

There  are  several  types  of  practices  of  average 
Americans  which  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  Ameri- 
can ideals  that  were  presented  in  Chapters  Two  to 
Five  inclusive.    The  average  American  in  addition  to 


The  Average  American  93 

declaring  the  ideals  of  liberty,  co-operation,  democracy, 
and  brotherliood,  must  bring  his  attitudes  toward  sev- 
eral un-American  tendencies  into  line  with  his  ideals. 
Americanization,  then,  for  average  Americans  requires, 
among  other  things,  that  average  Americans  improve 
the  quality  of  their  actions  in  at  least  the  following 
ten  particulars: 

I.  Many  Americans  take  a  snobbish  attitude  toward 
or  look  down  upon  foreigners.  We  do  not  realize 
that  these  same  foreigners  see  our  faults  and  look  down 
upon  us  because  of  certain  of  our  ways.  This  point 
is  especially  true  of  those  immigrants  who  come  from 
civilizations  and  cultures  which  are  five,  ten,  twenty, 
or  thirty  centuries  old.  The  situation  is  partially  ex- 
plained by  the  statement  that  the  average  American 
thinks  of  the  immigrants  in  terms  of  a  laborer  and 
the  immigrant  thinks  of  the  American  in  terms  of  a 
boss% 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  immigrant  pos- 
sesses ideals  which  the  American  does  not  suspect,  and 
the  American  has  ideals  and  qualities  of  which  the  im- 
migrant does  not  learn.  President  Wilson  struck  the 
needed  key-note  when  he  said  :  "No  amount  of  dwell- 
ing upon  the  idea  of  liberty  and  of  justice  will  ac- 
complish the  object  we  have  in  view,  unless  we  our- 
selves illustrate  the  idea  of  justice  and  of  liberty." 

In  our  daily  activities,  are  we  doing  democracy? 
Are  we  setting  democratic  examples  for  the  immigrants 
to  follow  ?  It  was  the  opinion  of  James  Russell  Low- 
ell several  decades  ago  that  few  people  take  the  trouble 
to  find  out  the  real  nature  of  democracy.  And  many 
loyal  Americans  recently  have  thought  it  apropos  to 


94  Americanization 

reverse  the  dictum  about  democracy  and  declare  that 
democracy  must  be  made  safe  for  the  world.  It  must 
also  be  made  safe  for  the  immigrants  who  come  to 
our  country. 

Many  Americans  have  questioned  the  merits  of  de- 
mocracy in  time  of  national  emergency  such  as  war, 
and  point  to  the  inefficiency  and  wastefulness  which 
was  manifest  in  the  United  States  during  the  World 
War.  All  such  doubters  need  to  remember  that  the 
war  between  the  United  States  and  Germany  was  one 
between  an  imperfect  democracy  and  a  perfected  autoc- 
racy. Germany  had  been  building  up  an  autocratic 
system  for  decades,  while  the  United  States  had  only 
begun  to  analyze  her  national  aims  and  to  work  them 
out  purposely  along  democratic  lines.  The  doubters 
need  to  consider  that  inefficiency  in  government  in  the 
United  States  is  not  due  to  weaknesses  in  the  ideal  of 
democracy  but  to  our  selfish  attempts  in  practicing 
democracy.  The  need  for  natives  to  treat  immigrants 
democratically  is  a  serious  phase  of  the  larger  problem 
of  how  to  do  democracy  in  all  our  daily  relationships. 

An  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  Americans  mis- 
understand immigrants,  and  hence  are  led  to  treat 
them  autocratically,  is  found  in  the  experiences  of  a 
certain  California  mining  company.  The  manager  no- 
ticed a  restlessness  among  the  5000  South  Austrian 
employees.  He  did  not  know  that  the  men  were  Croa- 
tians,  and  he  could  not  discover  any  real  cause  for  the 
increasing  restlessness.  He  thought  that  the  I.  W.  W. 
had  been  at  work  among  the  men  and  so  he  sent  word 
to  the  United  States  marshal  in  the  district  to  be  ready 
on  call. 


The  Average  American  95 

The  California  State  Commission  of  Immigration 
and  Housing  heard  of  the  disturbance,  and  wired, 
asking  that  the  manager  delay  action.  The  Commis- 
sion sent  an  interpreter,  who  asked  that  he  might  live 
among  the  men  and  find  out  the  deep-seated  causes  of 
the  excitement.  The  company's  representative  objected 
on  the  ground  that  the  life  of  the  interpreter  would  be 
endangered.  The  interpreter  persisted,  and  secured  a 
bunk  in  the  lodging  house.  At  the  end  of  the  second 
day  he  reported  to  the  company  that  the  serious  dis- 
turbance was  the  result  of  a  feverish  debate,  in  which 
the  whole  camp  was  involved,  as  to  where  the  capitol 
for  the  new  republic  of  Jugo-Slavia  should  be  located ! 
The  management  said :  "What  we  needed  was  not  the 
United  States  marshal  to  keep  order,  but  an  interpreter 
to  help  us  understand  the  men." 

2.  The  exploitation  of  the  weak  by  the  strong  is 
an  unpleasant  and  widespread  phase  of  American  life. 
Its  elimination  must  be  provided  for  in  a  complete 
Americanization  effort.  Political  power,  monetary 
power,  social  power  are  used  as  means  of  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  unsuspecting  and  innocent. 

Attorney  George  L.  Bell,  speaking  from  his  expe- 
riences as  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  California 
State  Commission  of  Immigration  and  Housing,  de- 
scribes a  colonization  scheme  which  was  carried  out 
in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  which  illustrated  the 
practice  of  exploitation.  The  sales  agents  of  the  coloni- 
zation company  made  special  efforts  to  induce  immi- 
grants to  purchase  land  in  lots  of  twenty  to  thirty 
acres.  The  value  of  the  land  was  represented  in  ad- 
vertisements and  by  oral  statements  in  the  most  glow- 


9^  Americanization 

ing  terms.  Exaggeration  and  misrepresentation  were 
common.  As  a  result,  "150  families,  mWly  immi- 
grants, were  induced  to  pay  from  $100  to  $150  an  acre 
for  this  land.  Three  years  of  fruitless  labor  went  by, 
life-savings  were  lost,  and  worst  of  all,  confidence  in 
America  was  shattered." 

Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  the  land  was 
honey-combed  with  hardpan.  The  soil  experts  of  the 
University  of  California  found  that,  at  the  most,  the 
land  was  worth  only  from  $15  to  $20  an  acre,  and 
that  no  family  could  make  a  living  on  twenty  or 
thirty  acre  lots. 

This  case  is  only  one  of  about  500  land  fraud  cases 
which  have  been  handled  by  the  California  State  Com- 
mission in  a  few  years.  "It  shows,"  states  Attorney 
Bell,  *'that  we  exploit  immigrants  even  in  their  attempt 
to  get  back  to  the  land  —  the  place  where  many  wise 
students  of  the  problem  say  that  the  immigrants  must 
go,  before  our  immigrant  problem  is  solved." 

3.  The  materialism  of  many  Americans  is  a  griev- 
ous disappointment  to  immigrants.  This  tendency 
of  materialism  has  become  focused  in  money-making 
until  we  have  achieved  the  name  of  being  a  nation  of 
money-makers,  and  of  having  established  a  form  of 
a  bureaucracy,  namely,  a  dollarocracy. 

It  is  true  that  the  immigrant  has  come  with  the  idea 
of  improving  his  economic  condition.  But  he  did  not 
expect  to  put  money-making  above  all  other  phases  of 
life.  He  did  not  expect  to  be  lost  in  an  industrial  mael- 
strom. 

4.  The  immigrant  cannot,  as  a  rule,  understand  our 
lack  of  courtesy.     His  first   disappointments   in   this 


The  Average  American  97 

connection  occur  at  the  immigrant  stations.  If  large 
numbers  of  immigrants  must  be  examined  in  a  short 
period  of  time,  the  individual  immigrant  is  jostled  and 
shoved  along.  He  is  unexpectedly  seized  by  the  eye- 
brows, in  order  to  be  examined  for  trachoma.  He  is 
yelled  at  in  a  way  which  bewilders  and  dumbfounds 
him. 

The  immigrant  is  chagrined  by  American  thought- 
lessness. Everybody  seems  to  be  going  about  his  own 
business  to  be  sure,  but  very  few  seem  to  be  really 
interested  in  an  ordinary,  strange  individual,  least  of 
all  in  giving  sympathetic  aid  to  a  foreigner. 

The  average  American  seems  to  lack  an  appreciation 
of  the  finer  things  of  life.  He  seems  to  care  little 
for  the  esthetic.  He  prefers  jazz  to  grand  opera.  The 
immigrant,  bringing  a  love  of  the  fine  arts  which  is  a 
heritage  of  the  ages,  cannot  understand  our  disregard 
of  the  beautiful. 

5.  In  the  normal  times  of  peace,  Americans  have 
become  notorious  for  taking  little  interest  in  their  gov- 
ernment and  in  public  welfare,  sometimes  through  sec- 
tionalism, and  sometimes  through  thoughtlessness  and 
unconscious  selfishness.  As  a  result  of  this  condition, 
unworthy  politicians  have  prospered  and  true  states- 
men have  been  persistently  maligned  and  caricatured. 
President  Roosevelt  once  said  that  the  chief  evil  in 
this  country  is  the  lack  of  a  sufficiently  general  appre- 
ciation of  the  responsibility  of  citizenship.  Conse- 
quently, a  whole  brood  of  evils  has  hatched.  As  enu- 
merated by  President  Roosevelt  these  are:  (i)  un- 
fair business  methods,  (2)  the  misused  power  of  cap- 
ital, (3)  the  unjustified  activities  of  labor,  (4)  pork- 


98  Americanizotion 

barrel  legislation,  and  (5)  graft  among  powerful  pol- 
iticians. 

Even  in  times  of  war,  as  well  as  of  peace,  the  lack 
of  interest  in  public  welfare  is  conspicuous.  When 
the  United  States  was  engaged  in  the  World  War, 
there  were  undoubtedly  many  native  Americans  who 
thought  of  the  war,  not  as  an  opportunity  to  serve  the 
country  or  the  cause  of  democracy,  but  as  an  occasion 
for  making  large  sums  of  money.  In  defiance  of  gen- 
uine patriotism,  profiteering  spread  its  ugly  tentacles 
and  labor  strikes  were  boldly  advocated. 

Mrs.  Mary  K.  Simkhovitch  of  Greenwich  House, 
New  York  City,  has  illustrated  provincialism  by  citing 
the  case  of  a  New  Englander  who  is  first  a  New  Eng- 
lander  and  only  very  secondarily  a  citizen  of  the  Unit- 
ed States.  Mrs.  Simkhovitch  believes  that  the  colonial 
hyphenated  American  has  perhaps  as  little  understand- 
ing of  Americanism  as  has  a  member  of  any  foreign- 
born  hyphenated  group.  In  her  work  for  many  years 
on  the  East  Side  of  New  York  City,  she  has  come  to 
believe,  also,  that  the  average  immigrant  becomes  a 
more  ardent  patriot,  even  under  adverse  conditions, 
than  some  plain  Americans  of  colonial  stock. 

Americanization  implies  a  development  of  steadfast 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  American  in  his  government, 
his  political  representatives,  and  democracy.  It  means 
that  public  office  and  suffrage  must  be  given  an  air  of 
dignity  in  the  eyes  of  both  the  native-born  and  the 
foreign-born.  The  average  voter  frequently  neglects 
to  vote,  or  in  order  to  get  him  to  vote  it  is  necessary 
to  send  an  automobile  for  him.  He  rarely  keeps  his 
legislative  representatives  informed  as  to  his  beliefs  on 


The  Average  American  99 

important  issues,  unless  he  is  the  votary  of  a  special 
interest.  In  this  case  he  may  importune  too  much, 
urging  the  support  of  given  measures  which  may  be 
directly  opposed  to  public  welfare. 

We  are  prone  to  heap  abuse  upon  public  officials  — 
even  chief  executives  —  especially  if  they  belong  to  a 
political  party  different  from  our  own.  Extreme  par- 
tisanship undermines  Americanism.  Some  newspaper 
cartoons  of  our  officials  crush  out  respect  for  the  in- 
cumbents, for  the  offices,  and  even  for  the  government 
itself  in  the  eyes  of  both  citizens  and  aliens. 

6.  Americanization  of  average  Americans  includes 
a  program  for  more  unification  than  we  now  have  in 
matters  of  race,  ideals,  standards  of  democracy.  We 
do  not  yet  have  an  American  race;  we  are  still  ra- 
cially heterogeneous,  speaking  many  languages  and 
harboring  a  large  variety  of  racial  customs.  Race  prej- 
udice still  operates  fiercely. 

In  our  thinking  on  national  and  world  issues  we  are 
distressingly  diversified.  The  long,  cold  winters  of 
North  Dakota  produce  different  attitudes  from  those 
which  are  stimulated  in  the  humid  regions  of  South 
Carolina.  Vast  accumulations  of  private  wealth, 
strengthened  by  an  inheritance  system,  are  responsible 
for  a  gulf  between  the  capitalistic  and  laboring  classes 
so  wide  that  when  either  speaks  the  other  is  likely  to 
misunderstand.  Americanization  is  a  process  of  build- 
ing up  a  common  basis  of  understanding  for  conserva- 
tives and  liberals,  and  for  the  orthodox  and  heterodox 
in  all  phases  of  American  life. 

7.  Extravagance  has  almost  become  an  American 
trait.     We  are  notorious  for  our  lack  of  conservation 


I  oo  A  merkanization 

of  national  resources.  The  reckless  cutting  down  of  the 
best  timber  in  magnificent  forests  and  the  wholesale 
burning  of  natural  gas  in  order  to  appropriate  the  un- 
derlying oils  have  been  stopped  to  a  large  degree,  but 
the  stunting  of  adolescents  in  industry,  a  needless 
waste  of  adult  life  in  hazardous  occupations,  a  gigantic 
expenditure  of  money  and  energy  for  fashion  luxuries 
are  widely  evident. 

In  191 3,  for  example,  we  spent  more  money  for 
sodas  and  ice  cream  than  in  support  of  the  church; 
twice  as  much  money  for  tobacco,  and  five  times  as 
much  for  liquor  as  for  the  church.  In  191 7,  we  were 
manufacturing  as  many  as  850  styles  of  shoes.  Note 
the  following  headlines  from  newspapers  as  illustra- 
tions of  anti-social  extravagance  in  a  world  where 
children  are  starving. 

( 1 )  Mrs.  H —  wears  $35,000  coat. 

(2)  Banquet  given  in  honor  of  monkey. 

(3)  Half  million  dollars  in  jewels  on  Mrs.  A — at 

ball. 

(4)  Bequeaths  valuable  property  to  pet  bulldog. 

The  immigrant  is  astounded  at  the  reckless  expen- 
ditures of  Americans.  Paralyzed,  he  beholds  an  Amer- 
ican youth  nonchalantly  pull  a  ten  dollar  bill  from  his 
vest  pocket  and  toss  it  on  the  counter  in  paying  for  a 
five  cent  package  of  chewing  gum.  The  immigrant  is 
more  thrifty  than  the  native-born.  In  the  years  pre- 
ceding the  World  War,  the  immigrant  was  saving  and 
sending  to  Europe  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  an- 
nually—  savings  from  meager  wages.  Americaniza- 
tion includes  a  return  to  the  principles  of  thrift  that 


The  Average  American  loi 

were  taught  by  Franklin  and  practiced  by  our  parents 
and  the  immigrants. 

8.  Dispatch  and  bigness  and  noise  were  not  always 
American  traits.  Sometimes  they  have  been  justified, 
as  in  the  following  illustration.  During  the  visi4:  of 
the  writer  to  the  automobile  section  at  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Exposition,  the  salesmen  of  almost  all  the  high- 
priced  automobiles  were  only  moderately  busy  or  else 
were  lounging  about.  At  one  side  of  the  large  build- 
ing, however,  there  was  considerable  commotion  and 
a  large  crowd  of  interested  people.  There  was  a  slowly 
moving  long  platform  upon  one  end  of  which  automo- 
bile parts  were  being  thrown,  and  at  the  other  end  of 
which  every  eight  minutes  a  chauffeur  jumped  into  a 
fully  assembled  automobile,  gave  a  honk,  honk,  and 
amid  the  plaudits  of  the  spectators,  drove  merrily  out 
of  the  building,  and  disappeared  from  view.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  not  all  speed  in  the  United  States 
has  in  it  the  qualitative  advantages  for  the  common 
people  that  is  represented  in  the  rapid-fire  manufacture 
of  Ford  motor  cars. 

Unworthy  forms  of  speed  are  illustrated  by  the  get- 
rich-quick  schemes  of  the  hour,  by  the  neurasthenic 
chase  after  new  fashions,  by  curricula  for  giving  stu- 
dents superficial  knowledge  in  several  fields  simulta- 
neously, by  the  kaleidoscopic  dash  by  automobile  to 
snatch  a  few  hours  of  nerve-wrecking  amusement  at  a 
pleasure  resort. 

In  play  as  well  as  in  work  American  speed  is  com- 
mon. Some  Americans  have  developed  in  recent 
years  the  unfortunate  habit  of  rushing  at  thirty  miles 
an  hour  to  places  of  amusement  and  recreation,  trying 


1 02  A  mericanigation 

one  artificial  and  excitement-dealing  device  after  an- 
other in  rapid  succession,  and  then  dashing  for  home 
at  forty  miles  an  hour,  arriving  there  more  tired  than 
when  they  started.  Such  habits  preclude  the  possibili- 
ties of  securing  natural  and  needed  relaxation  and  rec- 
reation from  leisure  hours. 

The  deification  of  bigness  in  American  business  life 
is  presented  by  Booth  Tarkington  in  The  Turmoil. 
Herein  is  depicted  a  character  to  whom  bigness  alone 
is  the  source  of  happiness.  Bigness,  however,  is  often 
developed  at  the  expense  of  human  welfare  —  this  is 
the  indirect  therne  of  the  story.  Many  Americana  are 
prone  to  worship  the  tallest  skyscrapers,  the  largest 
bank  accounts,  the  fastest  base-runners. 

With  this  speed  and  bigness,  there  is  frequently  the 
strident  accompaniment  of  noise.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, we  have  reacted  against  mere  noise  as  a  means 
of  celebrating  the  Fourth  of  July.  Nevertheless,  tem- 
porary recidivism  expressed  itself  on  November  nth, 
1918,  the  day  of  the  signing  of  the  armistice.  The 
people  did  not  have  the  advantage  which  comes  from 
organization;  they  acted  spontaneously.  Spontaneity, 
however,  is  supposed  to  reveal  true  attitudes.  At 
any  rate,  the  most  striking  phase  of  the  celebration  was 
the  noise,  the  tin-can  noise,  the  raucous  noise  of  dis- 
cordant, competitive  voices.  A  weakness  for  speed, 
size,  and  noise  partially  offsets  our  high  appraisal  of 
virile  morality  and  courageous  patriotism.  Mere  ra- 
pidity, bigness,  and  loudness  in  themselves  lead  to  de- 
generation. If  the  United  States  is  to  progress  and  to 
set  favorable  examples  for  her  immigrant  population, 


The  Average  American  103 

she  must  return  to  her  pristine  emphasis  upon  quality 
and  quietness. 

If  the  United  States  is  to  make  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  immigrant,  thoroughness  and  quality  must  be  con- 
tinuously enthroned.  The  incoming  immigrant  cannot 
understand  the  rapid,  discordant  pace  in  our  country. 
He  fails  to  grasp  the  tenor  of  the  statement:  "Time 
is  money."  In  his  previous  habitat,  time  had  not  been 
commercialized.  Upon  arrival  in  this  country  he  moves 
leisurely;  his  mind  likewise  jogs  along.  Then  he  be- 
comes inoculated  v^ith  the  germ  of  American  speed, 
and  enters  upon  the  asthenic  pace. 

On  arrival,  the  newxomer  to  our  land  is  dazzled  by 
the  splendor  of  the  United  States.  But  as  he  proceeds 
in  a  jangling  street  car  through  narrow  streets  and  past 
dingy  buildings  to  the  East  Side  of  New  York  City, 
and  takes  up  his  abode  in  a  six-story  dumb-bell  type 
of  tenement,  and  begins  to  sell  cabbages  from  a  push 
cart,  he  awakens  from  his  bewilderment  and  asks  the 
meaning  of  it  all.  He  is  at  a  loss  to  explain  the  juxto- 
position  of  illimitable  wealth  and  grievous  misfortune. 
He  cannot  adjust  his  mind  to  the  co-existence  of  ele- 
gant mansions  and  the  dark  caves,  without  sunshine, 
which  are  called  tenements.^  He  wants  to  know  if  there 
is  not  a  worm  at  the  heart  of  it  all.  He  is  amazed  that 
generous  America  is  so  callous  in  the  presence  of  so 
much  revolting  misery.  To  him,  it  seems  as  if  speed, 
bigness,  and  noise  had  supplanted  fundamental  human 
virtues. 

^The  reader  will  find  in  An  American  in  the  Making  by  M.  E. 
Ravage,  a  refreshing  and  good-natured  presentation  of  the  reactions  of 
the  immigrant  to  various  American  methods,  and  of  the  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  his  Americanization. 


I04  Americanization 

9.  Another  native  tendency  which  Americanization 
must  counteract  is  the  decreasing  influence  of  the  home. 
America  developed  and  grew  apace  out  of  a  sound 
and  not  infrequently  austere  home  life.  The  child  felt 
the  disciplining  hand  of  parent  and  acquired  a  respect 
for  substantial  virtues.  Today,  persuasion  has  been 
substituted  for  compulsion,  but  the  persuading  often 
degenerates  into  supplicating  and  importuning.  As  a 
result,  parental  discipline  is  breaking  and  considera- 
tion of  the  wishes  of  elders  is  being  ignored.  Immi- 
grant parents  experience  unspeakable  chagrin  because 
of  the  disrespectful  attitude  of  their  children  who  are 
learning  their  first  lessons  in  American  ill  manners.  In 
our  large  cities  a  generation  is  rising  without  proper 
ballast. 

A  decreasing  respect  for  the  sanctities  of  marriage 
and  an  increasing  divorce  rate  are  deleterious  tenden- 
cies. The  double  standard  of  morals  and  the  social 
evil  are  likewise  destructive.  They  vitiate  the  physical 
and  moral  energy  of  natives  and  immigrants  alike,  and 
together  conspire  to  plunge  our  nation  on  the  rocks. 
When  marriage  is  considered  merely  as  a  civil  contract 
to  be  made  or  broken  at  will,  a  nation  is  in  greater  peril 
than  if  an  armed  force  were  at  its  gates. 

The  increasing  homelessness  of  Americans  is  start- 
ling in  the  extreme.  In  the  large  cities  in  the  United 
States  an  average  family  cannot  afford  a  home.  The 
larger  the  city  the  less  feasible  is  home  ownership. 
We  are  already  upon  times  in  the  United  States  when 
the  majority  of  our  urban  residents  are  homeless  —  in 
the  sense  of  being  unable  to  live  in  homes  which  they 
own  or  for  which  they  are  paying.     The  situation  is 


The  Average  American  105 

pathetic  in  regard  to  immigrants  who  look  toward  the 
United  States  for  homes. 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  Immigration  Com- 
mission which  was  appointed  by  Roosevelt,  the  per- 
centage of  foreign-born  wage  earners  in  the  industrial 
cities  who  are  home-owners,  is  twice  as  great  as  the 
percentage  of  the  native-born  in  this  class.  It  is  a 
sad  fact  that  the  native-born  wage  earners  have  given 
up  the  hope,  while  the  foreign-born  are  still  trying 
against  almost  insuperable  odds  to  acquire  a  home.  Do 
we  want  to  make  of  the  United  States  a  nation  of 
lordly  palaces  with  servant  races  begging  for  floor 
space  on  which  "to  pitch  their  gypsy  tents"  ? 

For  the  well-to-do  Americans,  apartment  house  life 
with  a  minimum  of  home  life  and  a  maximum  of 
indulgent  pleasures  is  becoming  a  widespread  move- 
ment. Children  mingle  in  stairways  and  alleys,  or 
walk  or  run  the  streets,  without  adecfuate  supervision. 
Idle,  unsupervised  hours  lead  to  indifference,  delin- 
quency, recklessness.  These  proclivities  are  under- 
mining the  home  as  an  American  institution.  Ameri- 
canization is  a  process  of  providing  a  new  emphasis 
upon  sound  family  life. 

10.  In  the  United  States  the  twentieth  century 
has  seen  not  only  a  sloughing  off  of  outworn  religious 
forms,  but  an  open  disregard  for  the  church  and  the 
sanctities  of  religion.  Fundamental  American  ideals, 
however,  have  always  included  the  religious  element. 
It  was  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  who  undertook  the  danger- 
ous voyage  to  America  "for  ye  glory  of  God  and  ad- 
vancement of  ye  Christian  faith."  It  was  from  the 
Old  Testament  that  the  inscription  was  taken  for  the 


io6  Americanization 

Liberty  Bell.  It  was  Washington  who  officially  de- 
clared that  religion  is  an  indispensable  support  to  po- 
litical prosperity,  and  that  patriotism  is  in  vain  if  it 
subvert  this  great  pillar  of  human  happiness.  Wash- 
ington, speaking  as  President,  held  that  the  security 
for  life,  reputation,  and  property  is  nowhere  to  be 
found  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  be  cut  off; 
and  that  it  is  doubtful  if  even  morality  can  be  main- 
tained without  religion.  It  was  Lincoln  who  declared 
that  "this  nation  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom."  It  was  Wilson  who  in  setting  the  nation 
at  war  against  autocracy  and  for  democracy  asserted : 
"God  helping  her,  she  can  do  no  other." 

Colossal  efforts  are  being  put  forth  by  the  various 
religious  bodies.  The  Protestants  are  awake  and  act- 
ive, but  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  working  out  a  re- 
ligious program  that  wins  in  large  numbers  the  immi- 
grants of  the  last  few  decades.  The  Roman  Catholics 
have  found  the  nature  of  their  organization  changing 
and  being  weakened  in  unanticipated  directions.  Many 
of  their  numbers,  such  as  the  Czechoslovaks,  have 
been  breaking  away  and  forming  free-thinking  socie- 
ties. The  effect  of  the  Anierican  environment  upon  the 
religious  attitude  of  the  child  of  the  orthodox  Jew  is 
well-known.  America  frequently  de-Judaizes  the  Jew 
without  Christianizing  him.  The  appeal  of  socialism 
to  him  is  oftentimes  greater  than  that  of  Christianity. 

Despite  surface  drifts,  however,  the  American  is  fun- 
damentally religious  at  heart.  The  materialism  which 
results  from  money-making  has  not  destroyed  the  roots 
of  religion.  Even  beneath  the  crude  exterior  of  the 
illiterate    immigrant    there    are    religious    impulses. 


The  Average  American  107 

Americanization  means  a  purifying  and  socializing  of 
the  religious  beliefs  of  Americans.  It  also  connotes 
a  wholesome,  constructive,  and  broad-minded  appeal 
to  the  religious  needs  of  the  immigrant,  who  will  re- 
spond and  contribute  mightily  to  the  spiritual  rebirth 
of  the  United  States. 

The  ideals  and  the  practices  of  average  Americans 
have  been  presented  in  this  chapter  and  the  earlier 
chapters  of  this  treatise.  It  has  been  seen  that  we 
possess  contradictory  traits.  There  is  often  a  wide 
distance  between  our  splendid  ideals  and  many  of  our 
daily  practices.  Americanization  is  a  process  of  short- 
ening this  distance  between  ideals  and  practices,  or  of 
harmonizing  practices  with  ideals. 

Americanization  involves  the  rebirth  of  all  our  fun- 
damental virtues,  namely,  liberty  and  initiative,  union 
and  co-operation,  democracy  and  justice,  internation- 
alism and  brotherhood.  Average  Americans  are  pace- 
setters for  immigrants.  Whether  the  immigrants  be- 
come social  or  anti-social  Americans  depends  upon  the 
examples  which  are  set  by  average  Americans.  The 
latter  are  called  to  express  in  action  all  that  is  good 
and  true  and  that  is  civically  and  socially  dynamic  in 
America's  vision.  The  immigrant  will  then  contribute 
his  share,  and  more,  to  the  process. 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  do  native-born  persons  need  to  be  Ameri- 

canized ? 

2.  What  is  the  average  American's  conception  of 

Americanism  ? 


io8  Americanization 

3.  Why  is  the  average  American  so  much  in  need 

of  Americanization    even    after    he    has    gone 
through  the  public  schools? 

4.  Is  it  true  that  the  average  American  "adores  the 

flag  but  suspects  the  state"  ? 

5.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  slogan,  "Ameri- 

ca for  Americans"? 

6.  Explain:     "Americans   are  more   hospitable   on 

Sundays  than  on  week  days." 

7.  Give  an  original  illustration  of  an  un-American 

act  of  an  American. 

8.  Why  has  speed  become  a  phase  of  Americanism? 

9.  Why  do  so  many  Americans  neglect  to  vote? 

10.  Why  do  so  many  Americans  who  are  well  fitted 

for  public  positions  refuse  to  become  candidates 
for  public  office? 

11.  Is  the  eagle  a  correct  American  symbol? 

12.  Evaluate  the  Americanism  in  the  statement :   My 

country,  right  or  wrong. 

13.  Distinguish  between  Americanism  and  nativism. 

14.  Is  it  a  high  type  of  Americanism  to  wear  a  $35,- 

000  coat? 

15.  How  may  we  account  for  the  fact  that  some  for- 

eign-born persons  have  reached  a  higher  Amer- 
ican standard  than  many  native-born  persons? 

16.  What  are  the  main  faults  that  the  average  for- 

eigner sees  in  the  average  American? 

17.  What  types  of  Americans  are  doing  the  most  to 

degrade  the  quality  of  our  Americanism? 

18.  How  can  average  Americans  help  in  the  process 

of  Americanization  without  going  into  specific 
Americanization  work? 


Chapter  VIII 
THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 

In  the  United  States  there  are  approximately  300,- 
000  Indians,  representing  a  race  once  in  possession  of 
America.  They  are  more  nearly  Simon-pure  Ameri- 
cans than  we.  But  what  has  been  the  history  of  their 
contact  with  our  Americanism? 

The  English  colonists,  according  to  the  historian, 
Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  sought  to  make  slaves  of  the 
Indians.^  But  the  red  man  could  not  understand  sla- 
very—  his  pride  forbade.  Conquest,  extermination, 
and  racial  death  became  his  fate.  He  lived  in  the  no- 
bility of  his  traditions;  he  loved  his  out-of-door  hunt- 
ing life  which  is  a  distinguishing  trait  of  his  race.  He 
had  no  desire  to  give  up  his  culture  for  what  he  con- 
sidered the  artificial  status  of  civilization.  He  despised 
the  "paleface,"  not  only  because  of  his  bleached  out 
countenance,  but  because  the  white  man,  in  his  judg- 
ment, had  succumbed  to  the  tedious  and  monotonous 
discipline  of  labor.^  He  felt  "an  unsurmountable  dis- 
gust for  the  methods  the  Europeans  used  for  attaining 
their  superiority." 

But  the  colonists,  as  a  rule,  did  not  give  considera- 
tion to  life  from  the  red  man's  standpoint.  They  saw 
him  at  his  worst  —  as  "a  scalp-dancing,  war-whooping 
savage."     Although  the  Pilgrims  who  arrived  in  the 

^National  Ideals  Historically  Traced,  p.  48. 

Me  Tocqueville,  Democracy  in  America,  1 :340ff.,  349. 


no  Americanization 

early  winter  of  1620  were  able  to  survive  by  virtue  of 
the  stores  of  Indian  corn  which  they  utilized;  al- 
though the  colonists  were  taught  hunting  and  trapping, 
the  raising  of  corn,  the  making  of  moccasins  and  ca- 
noes by  the  Indians;  and  although  the  land  on  which 
the  colonists  settled  was  the  property  of  the  Indians, — 
nevertheless,  the  colonists  did  not  appreciate  their  obli- 
gations. 

The  psychical  and  social  differences  between  the  red 
and  the  white  man  were  so  great  that  mutual  misun- 
derstandings continually  arose.  The  Indian  disdained 
to  make  the  gigantic  leap  from  Indianism  to  Europe- 
anism.  He  honestly  doubted  its  worthwhileness.  The 
Europeans,  on  the  other  hand,  failing  to  appreciate  the 
problems  of  raising  a  people  of  hunting  nature  to  the 
markedly  different  plane  of  civilization,  alienated  the 
good  will  of  the  Indian.  In  its  turn,  the  Indian's  bar- 
baric method  of  warfare  aroused  the  hatred  of  the 
Europeans.    The  Indians  lost. 

The  Indians  were  forced  to  withdraw,  following  the 
trails  of  the  wild  animals  which  had  made  the  chase 
an  Indian  institution.  Exhausted  by  famine,  struggling 
to  keep  up  a  desultory  warfare,  the  Indian  retreated 
over  the  hills  and  across  the  plains.^  By  18 18,  ''the 
currents  of  civilization  had  flowed  around  the  Indian 
tribes,  leaving  them  on  detached  reservations." 

The  Indians  were  nomadic,  without  a  knowledge  of 
agriculture.  When  they  attempted  to  imitate  the  im- 
migrants from  Europe  in  tilling  the  soil,  they  were  un- 
able to  succeed  in  the  unequal  contest  with  their  trained 

^Hart,  op.  cit.,  p.  56.  ^ 


The  American  Indian  1 1 1 

competitors.^  Unskilled  in  agriculture,  and  lacking  the 
encouragement  of  sympathetic  instructors  in  the  fields, 
they  met  defeat  in  their  chief  attempt  to  adopt  the  ways 
of  civilized  man. 

Until  recent  decades,  the  attitude  of  our  government 
toward  the  Indian  failed  to  measure  up  to  the  standard 
set  by  Washington,  who  said :  "We  are  more  enlight- 
ened and  more  powerful  than  the  Indian  nations,  we 
are  therefore  bound  in  honor  to  treat  them  with  gen- 
erosity." Washington's  concern  that  justice  be  done 
the  Indian  may  be  noted  in  each  of  his  annual  messages 
to  Congress.  In  commenting  in  1842  upon  Washing- 
ton's plea,  our  French  visitor,  Alexis  de  Tocqueville, 
pointed  out  that  this  virtuous  and  high-minded  policy 
had  not  been  followed,  and  declared  that  "the  rapacity 
of  the  settlers  is  usually  backed  by  the  rapacity  of  the 
government."  While  he  charged  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment with  treating  the  Indians  with  less  cupidity  and 
rigor  than  did  the  individual  settler,  yet  he  held  that  the 
policies  of  both  the  Federal  and  State  Governments 
were  alike  destitute  of  good  faith.  The  states  obliged 
the  Indians  to  retreat,  and  the  Federal  Government, 
through  its  promises  and  resources,  facilitated  that  re- 
tirement. For  decades  the  effects  of  European  civil- 
ization and  the  methods  of  the  newcomers,  instead  of 
gently  raising  the  Indians  to  a  civilized  level,  made 
them  more  disorderly  and  less  civilized  than  they  were 
before.^  The  increasing  friction  between  the  races 
reached  its  height  in  the  nineteenth  century  and  in- 
volved enormous  losses  in  men  and  money.  By  the  year 

*de  Tocqueville,  op.  cit.,  1:352. 
^Op.  cit.,  1 :340. 


112  Americanization 

1866,  our  government  had  spent  more  than  $500,000,- 
000  in  fighting  the  Indians. 

In  President  Grant's  administration  the  miUtary 
methods  of  dealing  with  the  Indian  were  supplanted 
by  an  assimilative  program.  The  peace  policy  was  in- 
augurated. The  effective  introduction  of  the  new  and 
constructive  program  was  due  to  the  good  judgment 
and  foresight  of  the  first  Board  of  Indian  Commis- 
sioners. They  believed  that  through  friendly  con- 
tacts, the  red  and  white  races  would  live  togther  peace- 
ably and  would  even  assimilate.  The  Indian  wars 
ended.     Indian  education  began. 

The  intention  of  the  Federal  Government  to  act 
fairly  toward  the  Indian  has  assumed  tangible  forms. 
Large  sums  of  money  —  several  millions  of  dollars  an- 
nually —  have  been  appropriated  and  used  for  the  edu- 
cation and  development  of  the  Indians.  Individual 
holdings  of  land  have  been  granted,  with  citizenship 
an  accompaniment  of  such  holdings.  The  churches 
and  other  privately  organized  associations  have  be- 
come increasingly  active  in  behalf  of  the  Indians. 

On  April  17,  19 17,  the  Commission  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs announced  a  policy  which  contemplated  the  re- 
lease from  government  supervision  of  nearly  every  In- 
dian, with  his  property,  who  has  one-half  or  more 
white  blood.  The  new  policy  provided  also  for  the 
similar  release  of  Indians  with  more  than  one-half  In- 
dian blood  who  show  themselves  as  capable  of  trans- 
acting their  own  affairs  as  the  average  white  man. 
The  students  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  who  com- 
plete the  full  course  of  instruction  in  government 
schools,  who  receive  diplomas,  and  who  also  demon- 
strate competency  will  be  released. 


The  American  Indian  113 

Despite  changed  policies,  the  Indians  are  being 
Americanized  very  slowly.  To  a  large  extent  they  are 
settled  on  poor  farm  lands  in  the  arid  regions.  They 
have  frequently  adopted  the  vices  of  the  white  man 
and  become  notorious  for  their  shiftlessness.  They 
still  live  under  the  fear  that  the  reservation  rights  will 
be  taken  away  and  the  reservations, -as  soon  as  they 
become  valuable,  thrown  open  to  the  whites.  When 
they  hear  the  words, 

My  country  'tis  of  thee, 

Sweet  land  of  liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing: 

I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 

Thy  woods  and  templed  hills, 

they  grow  sad.  These  lines  suggest  the  songs  of  their 
own  free  days.^  They  too  love  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  citizenship  status  of  the  Indian  is  uncertain,  for 
he  has  been  granted  citizenship  rights  in  one  state  and 
denied  them  in  another,  even  though  he  has  possessed 
the  same  capabilities  and  degree  of  development  in  both 
states.''  His  property  rights  are  still  unsatisfactorily 
defined,  although  a  great  improvement  in  this  regard 
has  occurred  since  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  wrote  "The 
Indian  is  the  only  human  being  within  our  territory 
who  has  no  individual  rights  in  the  soil."  George 
Wharton  James,  who  is  authority  for  the  statements 
that  the  treaties  of  California  with  the  Indians  euchred 

*S.  K.  Humphrey,  The  Indian  Dispossessed,  p.  8. 
'F.  A.  McKenzie,  "The  Assimilation  of  the  American  Indian,"  Amer. 
Jour,  of  Sociology,  XIX:766. 


114  ^  mericanization 

them  out  of  their  lands,  and  that  the  evictions  of  the 
Indians  were  far  worse  than  the  evictions  of  the  Irish 
in  Ireland,  also  states  that  no  native  Indian  has  been 
permitted  to  file  upon  any  public  land  in  California, 
while  foreigners  may  do  so  after  taking  out  first  pa- 
pers, and  that  there  are  several  thousand  homeless  In- 
dians in  California  who  need  small  homesteads  and 
cabins  from  which  they  cannot  be  evicted. 

By  virtue  of  having  been  moved  from  one  reser- 
vation to  another  and  of  his  indefinite  status  in.  regard 
to  property  and  other  rights,  the  Indian  has  not  learned 
to  have  confidence  in  the  white  man.  Without  this 
confidence,  the  Indian  cannot  be  assimilated  to  any 
degree.  The  Indian's  estimate  of  his  conqueror  is 
summed  up  in  these  words :  "White  man,  he  uncer- 
tain. " 

Our  education  of  the  Indian  has  not  met  his  needs. 
His  children  who  have  gone  or  been  sent  away  to  be 
educated  find  that  they  cannot  return  and  make  use  at 
home  of  their  knowledge  of  highly  civilized  methods. 
The  new  ways  are  too  strange  and  foreign.  The  youth 
have  been  educated  away  from  their  parents.  If  they 
return  home,  they  must  fall  back  into  the  old  ways. 
Education  must  be  carried  on  in  the  Indian  commu- 
nities themselves,  and  whole  families  gradually  and 
patiently  instructed  in  rising  from  a  huntino-  stage  to 
an  agricultural  level  of  civilization.  Indian  leaders 
for  the  Indians  are  needed.  The  Indian  communities 
must  be  taught  by  Indian  leaders  who  understand  the 
benefits  and  ways  of  our  civilization,  and  yet  thor- 
oughly understand  the  Indian's  mind  and  culture. 

Little  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  the  Indian  an 


The  American  Indian  1 1-5 

opportunity  to  contribute  his  best  qualities  to  present- 
day  Americanism.  In  fact,  our  attention  has  been 
centered  so  much  upon  his  worst  traits  of  savagery 
and  shiftlessness  that  we  are  hardly  able  to  state  his 
best  qualities. 

In  using  Indian  names,  we  have  almost  forgotten 
our  indebtedness  to  the  Indian.  The  Indian  has 
given  us  the  names  of  four  of  the  five  Great  Lakes, 
of  one-half  of  our  states,  and  of  countless  townships, 
counties,  and  rivers.  How  many  persons  recall  that 
Massachusetts  is  the  Indian  name  for  Blue  Hills ;  Con- 
necticut, for  Long  River;  Dakota,  for  Allied  People; 
Utah,  for  Mountain  Home;  and  Wyoming,  for  Great 
Plains  ?  These  facts  have  slipped  almost  entirely  from 
our  consciousness.  Some  Americans  have  quite  for- 
gotten the  Indian's  connection  with  America  —  a  point 
which  is  illustrated  by  the  following  incident  that  is 
vouchsafed  for  by  E.  A.  Steiner.  An  Eastern  woman, 
after  spending  the  winter  in  Arizona,  said  that  the 
climate  was  splendid  but  that  she  did  not  like  the  peo- 
ple —  there  were  too  many  foreigners.  Upon  being 
asked  what  foreigners  she  found  so  numerous  in  Ari- 
zona, she  replied :    "Oh,  the  Indians." 

The  Indian  has  the  highest  type  of  physical  courage, 
inherited  physique,  and  endurance  to  contribute  to  our 
current  American  life.  He  has  been  trained  through 
the  centuries  to  endure. 

The  Indian  is  a  nature  lover.  He  is  a  product  of 
the  out-of-doors.  He  represents  a  style  of  simple  liv- 
ing to  which  modern  Americans  are  trying  to  return 
in  their  emphasis  upon  living  and  sleeping  in  the  open. 
The  Indian  possesses  an  unassailable  sense  of  personal 


ii6  Americanization 

liberty  and  love  of  justice.  He  has  a  bold  and  aspiring 
spirit,  like  that  of  his  emblem,  the  American  eagle, 
which  we  have  borrowed.^  According  to  Bishop  H. 
B.  Whipple,  who  lived  and  worked  with  the  Indians 
for  years,  the  Indian  is  brave,  fearless,  and  true  to  his 
plighted  faith.  He  furnished  io,ocx)  soldiers,  mostly 
as  volunteers,  in  the  World  War  for  democracy. 

The  Indian  possesses  the  gift  of  silence.  To  him, 
silence  is  the  sign  of  a  perfect  equilibrium.^  It  indi- 
cates absolute  poise  of  body,  mind,  and  spirit.  The 
Indian  faces  great  dangers  with  the  calm  of  a  Stoic. 

The  Indian  is  noted  for  his  generosity.  He  sets  no 
price  upon  his  property  or  labor,  according  to  Charles 
A.  Eastman,  and  his  generosity  is  only  limited  by  his 
strength  and  ability.  In  every  public  ceremony,  public 
giving  is  a  part.  The  religion  of  the  Indian  forbids 
the  enjoyment  of  luxury.  ''Let  neither  cold,  hunger, 
nor  pain,  nor  the  fear  of  them;  neither  the  bristling 
teeth  of  danger,  nor  the  very  jaws  of  death  itself,  pre- 
vent you  from  doing  a  good  deed,"  said  an  old  chief 
to  a  scout  who  was  seeking  game  to  relieve  a  starving 
people. 

To  the  Indian,  he  is  wealthiest  who  gives  most. 
With  us,  he  is  wealthiest  who  keeps  most.  To  the  In- 
dian, "land  is  as  free  as  the  water  he  drinks;  proprie- 
torship continues  so  long  as  the  land  is  tilled  or  other- 
wise in  use." 

As  soon  as  the  American  people  really  understand 
the  Indian  problem,  they  will  insist  upon  justice  to  the 
Indian  as  a  basis  for  an  Americanization  program.  Wc 

*C.  A.  Eastman,  The  Indian  Today,  p.  168. 
^Eastman,  The  Soul  of  the  Indian,  p.  89. 


The  American  Indian  iiy 

shall  not  fail  to  provide  generously  out  of  our  abun- 
dance for  these  original  possessors  of  our  land.  We 
shall  work  out  educational  methods  that  will  slowly 
transform  Indian  communities  from  the  hunting  to  the 
agricultural  stage  of  civilization,  utilizing  chiefly  Indian 
leaders.  We  shall  yet  utilize  the  valuable  and  needed 
gifts  which  the  American  Indian  can  add  to  current 
Americanism.  The  evidences  of  a  genuine  American- 
ization procedure  are  seen  in  the  new  policy  that  was 
announced  by  the  Federal  Government  on  April  17, 
1917;  in  the  recognition  of  American  Indian  Day,  such 
as  the  setting  aside  of  the  fourth  Friday  in  September 
by  the  state  of  Illinois  for  that  purpose;  and  in  the 
democratic  activities  of  many  missionary  and  semi- 
missionary  societies  which  are  working  for  a  better 
understanding  between  Indians  and  Americans. 

Lydia  Huntley  Sigourney  has  described  the  Indian's 
welcome  to  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  in  the  following  lines : 

When  sudden  from  the  forest  wide 

A  red-browed  chieftain  came, 
With  towering  form,  and  haughty  stride, 

And  eye  like  kindling  flame; 
No  wrath  he  breathed,  no  conflict  sought, 

To  no  dark  ambush  drew, 
But  simply  to  the  Old  World  brought 

The  welcome  of  the  new. 

Then,  by  way  of  contrast,  the  poet  has  depicted  the 
Indian's  present  low  estate  and  how  he  is  without  a 
welcome  in  the  mansions  that  have  been  builded  on 
land  that  he  once  owned  : 


1 18  Americanization 

Thou  gav'st  the  riches  of  thy  streams, 

The  lordship  o'er  thy  waves, 
The  region  of  thine  infant  dreams, 

And  of  thy  father's  graves, — 
But  who  to  yon  proud  mansions. 

Piled  with  wealth  of  earth  and  sea, 
Poor  outcast  from  thy  forest  wild, 

Say,  who  shall  welcome  thee? 


PROBLEMS 

1.  What  is  the  fundamental  reason  why  the  Indians 

and  Americans  have  misunderstood  one  another 
so  persistently? 

2.  Why  did  we  have  so  many  wars  with  the  Indi- 

ans? 

3.  What  has  been  the  main  weakness  of  our  educa- 

tional program  for  the  Indians? 

4.  Why  have  the  Indians  been  supplanted  by  the 

Caucasians? 

5.  Has  the  Indian  been  as  consistent  in  living  up  to 

his  ideals  as  we  have  been  consistent  in  living 
up  to  American  ideals? 

6.  Why  are  the  Indians  dying  out,  while  the  Ne- 

groes are  increasing? 

7.  What  does  the    average  Indian    understand  by 

Americanism  ? 

8.  What  are  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages 

of  the  land  reservation  for  the  Indians  ? 


-  The  American  Indian  119 

9.  If  the  Indian  had  been  given  a  complete  square 
deal  throughout  our  relations  with  him  (after 
the  fashion  of  William  Penn),  would  a  distinct 
Indian  civilization  have  arisen  or  would  assim- 
ilation have  occurred  ? 
10.  What  characteristics  do  Indians  possess  which 
would  strengthen  our  Americanism? 


Chapter  IX 


THE  NEGRO 


The  American  Negro  is  of  composite  racial  origin. 
His  earliest  immigrant  ancestors  came  from  the  Af- 
rican coast  regions  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Niger 
River.  He  represents  the  black  Guinea  Negroes  of 
the  West  Coast,  the  Sudanese,  and  captives  from  inte- 
rior tribes.  He  came  chiefly  from  equatorial  Africa 
where  great  heat  and  humidity  prevail  and  v^here 
nature  is  profligate  in  coarse  foodstuffs.  The  climate 
favors  indolence,  and  suppresses  ambition  and  initia- 
tive. The  over-energetic  individuals  are  cut  off;  the 
indolent  survive  and  become  the  parents  of  the  succes- 
sive generations. 

Further,  the  abundance  of  raw  foods  makes  exertion 
unnecessary  in  order  to  secure  a  living.  Natural  fac- 
tors combine  to  discourage  ambition,  intellectual  ef- 
fort, and  to  foster  lethargy  and  mental  retrogression. 
Moreover,  the  equatorial  regions  are  noted  for  the 
prevalence  of  diseases  and  an  excessively  high  infant 
and  general  mortality  rate.  Those  tribes  with  a  nor- 
mal birth-rate  —  in  an  American  sense  —  soon  die  out. 
Only  those  groups  survive  in  whose  members  the  sex 
instinct  assumes  a  greatly  exaggerated  expression. 

Additional  light  is  cast  upon  the  Negro's  problems 
in  the  United  States  by  considering  the  Negro's  envi- 
ronmental situation  under  American  slavery.  The  re- 
sults of  the  slave  system  parallel  the.  effects  of  equa- 


The  Negro     ,  121 

torial  influences.  Under  that  regime,  any  Negro  who 
manifested  individuality,  a  mind  of  his  own,  and  self- 
will  was  severely  punished.  If  he  remonstrated  against 
the  oppressive  phases  of  slavery,  he  was  put  in  chains. 

Slavery  offered  no  special  incentive  for  doing  an  un- 
usual amount  of  work  in  a  day.  For  the  mass,  there 
was  nothing  but  an  atmosphere  of  mental  oppression. 
The  slave  system,  therefore,  tended  to  eliminate  any 
members  of  the  race  whose  ambition  and  self-will  had 
survived  the  rigorous  weeding  out  process  in  the  an- 
cestral tropical  home.  The  unambitious  and  mediocre 
survived  and  became  the  progenitors  of  the  generations 
which  followed. 

The  Negro  in  America  was  compared  in  1835  with 
the  Indian  by  our  sympathetic  French  critic  and  vis- 
itor, de  Tocqueville :  "These  two  unhappy  races  have 
nothing  in  common;  neither  birth,  nor  features,  nor 
language,  nor  habits.  Their  only  resemblance  lies  in 
their  misfortunes.  Both  of  them  occupy  an  inferior 
rank  in  the  country  they  inhabit ;  both  suffer  from  tyr- 
anny; and  if  their  wrongs  are  not  the  same,  they  orig- 
inate, at  any  rate,  with  the  same  authors. 

"The  Negro,  who  is  plunged  in  this  abyss  of  evils, 
scarcely  feels  his  own  calamitous  situation.  Violence 
made  him  a  slave,  and  the  habit  of  servitude  gives 
him  the  thoughts  and  desires  of  a  slave;  he  admires 
his  tyrants  more  than  he  hates  them.  .  .  .  He 
conforms  to  the  tastes  of  his  oppressors,  adopts  their 
opinions,  and  hopes  by  imitating  them  to  form  a  part 
of  their  community.  Having  been  told  from  infancy 
that  his  race  is  naturally  inferior  to  that  of  the  whites, 


122  Americanization 

he  assents  to  the  proposition  and  is  ashamed  of  his  own 
nature."^ 

After  the  belated  but  magnificent  proclamation  of 
freedom  was  made,  there  occurred  the  gigantic  polit- 
ical blunder  of  giving  the  Negroes  the  right  of  suf- 
frage when  they  were  utterly  unprepared  to  exercise 
it,  when  90  per  cent  of  their  number  was  illiterate, 
uneducated,  and  unable  to  appreciate  the  meaning  of 
the  simpler  principles  of  government,  and  when  such 
enfranchisement  gave  them  political  power  over  the 
educated  South.  One  of  the  inevitable  results  was  a 
state  of  anarchy,  which  lasted  as  long  as  the  highly 
developed  race  was  subordinated. 

Another  unfortunate  result  was  an  increase  of  race 
prejudice.  Under  slavery,  social  contacts  between 
whites  and  blacks  were  frequent.  They  took  place 
on  the  basis  of  friendly  and  established  relationships. 
But  freedom  brought  race  separation,  friction,  misun- 
derstanding, and  an  increase  of  race  prejudice.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  Negro  is  less  popular  today  in  the  South 
than  he  was  fifty  years  ago. 

The  Negro  population  of  the  United  States  is  in- 
creasing. It  is  now  more  than  three  times  the  total 
population  of  the  country  when  Washington  was  in- 
augurated. It  is  far  larger  than  the  present  population 
of  Canada.  While  the  absolute  numbers  have  increased, 
the  percentage  of  Negroes  to  Caucasians  has  decreased. 
In  1790,  the  Negroes  numbered  nearly  20  per  cent  of 
the  entire  population,  while  in  1920  they  had  decreased 
to  about  10  per  cent.  This  decrease  and  these  per- 
centages do  not  represent  the  full  situation  in  the 
South.     In  Mississippi,  about  three  of  every  five  per- 

^Democracy  in  America,  1 :338,  339. 


The  Negro  123 

sons  are  colored ;  while  in  Washington  County  of  that 
state  nine  of  every  ten  persons  are  colored.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  inhabitants  of  South  Carolina  are  Ne- 
groes, while  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Florida  are  prac- 
tically one-half  colored. 

Since  the  days  of  slavery  the  Negro  has  advanced  in 
many  particulars.  He  has  made  long  strides  in  over- 
coming illiteracy.  When  emancipated,  at  least  90 
per  cent  of  the  race  was  unable  to  read  and  write. 
Fifty  years  later  this  percentage  had  been  reduced  to 
30.  To  have  decreased  their  illiteracy  record  from  90 
to  30  per  cent  in  fifty  years  is  a  praiseworthy  achieve- 
ment. 

In  the  industrial  field,  the  black  man's  progress  has 
been  noteworthy.  It  is  estimated  that  the  Negroes  in 
the  United  States  own  or  are  paying  for  20,000,000 
acres,  or  32,000  square  miles  of  land  —  an  acreage 
equal  to  the  combined  area  of  Massachusetts,  Vermont, 
Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island.  As  tenant  farmers 
they  are  cultivating  an  additional  40,000,000  acres. 
They  own  taxable  property  to  the  amount  of  $500,- 
000,000,  or  $45  per  capita.  These  figures  are  large, 
for  only  fifty  years  ago  the  Negro  owned  practically 
no  property  and  possessed  little  knowledge  of  methods 
of  acquiring  and  of  holding  property.  The  Negro  in 
our  country  is  accredited  with  maintaining  100  insur- 
ance companies  and  75  banks.  The  business  men  of 
the  race  have  organized  a  National  Negro  Business 
Men's  League.^    There  are  about  500  Negro  colleges 

^A  novel  business  establishment  of  the  race  is  the  Negro  Doll  Com- 
pany of  Nashville,  Tennessee.  The  Negro  doll  is  described  as  "a  neat, 
prim,  well-dressed,  well-behaved,  self-respecting  doll."  It  is  hoped 
that  the  colored  doll  will  have  the  effect  of  instilling  a  feeling  of  respect 
for  the  race  in  Negro  girls  and  women. 


124  Americanization 

and  normal  schools,  and  40,000  Negro  churches.  In 
many  of  these  matters  the  Negro  has  received  consid- 
erable aid  from  his  Caucasion  friends  in  both  the  South 
and  North.  On  the  other  hand,  he  has  had  to  face 
singlehandedly  countless  obstacles. 

The  mass  of  the  race,  however,  still  live  in  a  state 
of  poverty.  The  percentage  of  pauperism  and  shift- 
lessness  is  very  high.  The  race  suffers  from  a  lack  of 
industrial  education,  a  low  economic  status  in  the  midst 
of  a  higher  industrial  civilization,  and  a  scarcity  of  ap- 
propriate stimuli. 

The  criminal  records  of  the  race  are  also  high.  The 
Negro  racially  represents  a  set  of  lower  cultural  stand- 
ards than  the  Caucasian.  From  the  level  of  higher 
standards,  many  moral  acts  on  the  lower  levels  are 
considered  illegal  and  immoral.  Another  element  in 
this  untoward  situation  is  the  fact  that  two  races 
of  different  standards  are  living  in  the  same  territory. 
Wherever  such  a  condition  exists,  the  lower  moral 
strata  of  the  higher  race  tend  to  contaminate  the  whole 
lower  race.  There  is  no  doubt  that  on  his  cultural 
plane,  the  Negro  is  as  moral  as  is  the  Caucasian  on  a 
higher  level  of  development.  If  the  Negro  were  raised 
to  the  cultural  status  of  the  Caucasian,  his  criminality 
would  compare  favorably.  There  are  many  reports  to 
the  effect  that  in  the  courts  the  Negroes  do  not  receive 
justice.  *'They  are  persecuted,  despised,  rejected,  and 
discriminated  against  before  every  court  in.  the  South.''"'' 
An  intermixture  of  races  is  taking  place  illegally 
About  one-third  of  the  black  race  contains  white  blood 
in  varying  degrees.     The  intermixture  is  greatest  in 

^Cf.  R.  R.  Wright,  Jr.,  National  Conference  of  Social  Work,  1919, 
p.  540. 


The  Negro  125 

the  border  states  and  least  in.  the  Black  Belt.  The  amal- 
gamation takes  place  under  legally  and  socially  abnor- 
mal conditions.  As  a  result  there  is  a  vast  cauldron 
of  evil,  vice,  and  crime  continually  boiling.  Ameri- 
canism is  thereby  irreparably  damaged.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  however,  that  out  of  these  vicious  conditions, 
some  of  the  best  leaders  of  the  Negro  race  have  come- 

Negro  migration  to  the  Northern  states  has  always 
constituted  a  special  problem,  but  in  recent  years  the 
circumstances  have  assumed  a  very  serious  nature. 
The  South  needs  the  labor  of  the  Negro;  she  suffers 
industrially  from  his  departure.  In  the  North,  the 
Negro's  problems  of  adjustment  are  manifold.  The 
new  immigrants  from  the  South  congregate  in  the 
large  Northern  cities;  they  do  not  go  to  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. They  naturally  seek  urban  districts;  but  these 
are  greatly  overcrowded  and  notorious  for  congested 
housing  conditions.  Vice  conditions  have  also  devel- 
oped. The  disease  rate  and  the  death  rate  run  ex- 
ceedingly high. 

During  the  World  War,  the  industrial  needs  of  the 
North  attracted  thousands  of  Negroes.  They  over- 
flowed the  colored  sections  and  crowded  out  into  the 
white  districts  where  r«rce  friction  and  prejudice  de- 
veloped into  race  riots  and  produced  serious  indict- 
ments of  American  democracy.  These  race  riots  have 
defied  the  claims  that  ours  is  a  country  where  law  and 
orderly  progress  prevail.  We  have  decried  the  po- 
groms in  Poland  and  Russia  and  the  massacres  in 
Turkey,  but  have  found  ourselves  helpless  before  the 
reigns  of  terror  and  the  slaughter  of  the  innocents 
in  our  home  land. 


126  Americanization 

In  the  World  War,  the  Negro  furnished  300,000 
soldiers.  In  France  and  Italy  the  Negro  soldier  was 
received  on  a  social  par  with  the  white  soldier  in  a 
large  number  of  instances.  But  upon  his  return  home, 
the  Negro  soldier  found  the  color  line  drawn  tighter 
than  when  he  left  and  in  a  country  which  had  entered 
the  war  in  order  to  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy. 
The  War  raised  several  disturbing  questions  in  the 
mind  of  the  Negro.  The  chief  of  these  questions  was 
this :  *'If  I  am  good  enough  to  fight  for  democracy 
*over  there,'  am  I  not  good  enough  to  be  treated  dem- 
ocratically here  at  home?" 

During  the  World  War  the  champion  riveter  in  the 
United  States  was  a  colored  man.  Knight  by  name, 
who  succeeded  in  breaking  the  world's  record  for  driv- 
ing rivets  into  the  hull  of  a  steel  ship.  The  effect  of 
this  achievement  was  electrical.  "It  helped  to  create 
a  new  sense  of  importance  and  of  dignity  among  Ne- 
gro workingmen."  It  is  true  that  in  many  ways 
Negro  unrest  has  been  encouraged.  As  a  result  of  the 
World  War  and  its  attendant  implications,  the  Negro 
is  asking  for  the  enforcement  of  the  Fourteenth  and 
Fifteenth  Amendments,  a  real  share  in  the  government 
to  which  he  contributes  taxes,  work,  and  life,  a  federal 
law  against  lynching,  justice  in  the  courts,  and  the 
abolition  of  economic  and  social  discrimination. 

From  the  standpoint  of  Americanization,  what  is  the 
Negro  problem?  In  the  first  place,  the  leaders  of  the 
race  are  divided  into  two  camps.  Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington was  the  chief  representative  of  one  division, 
while  W.  E.  B.  DuBois  is  the  best  known  spokesman 
of  the  opponents.     Washington  believed  that  the  race 


The  Negro  127 

problem  consisted,  primarily,  in  making  the  Negro  an 
industrially  efficient  worker.  In  this  way,  he  will  be- 
come of  indispensable  service  to  his  neighbor  and  com- 
munity. Washington's  dictum  was  that  race  preju- 
dices decrease  as  economic  efficiency  increases.  When 
the  Negro  fills  well  the  basic  occupations  he  may  aspire 
to  higher  positions.  While  Washington  believed  in  all 
types  of  education,  he  emphasized  industrial  instruc- 
tion as  the  most  vitally  needed  by  the  race  as  a  group. 
When  the  Negro  succeeds  in  industrially  independent 
ways,  white  people  will  forget  his  color,  and  race  pre- 
judice will  gradually  die  out. 

At  this  point  Washington  apparently  did  not  con- 
sider the  possibility  that  the  educated  Negro  might 
compete  successfully  with  the  white  skilled  laborer  or 
even  with  the  white  professional  man.  In  an  event  of 
displacement  of  a  white  artisan  or  professional  man  by 
a  colored  person,  even  though  the  latter  were  better 
trained  and  more  efficient,  the  question  of  race  preju- 
dice would  undoubtedly  come  to  the  front  and  create 
new  and  serious  difficulties. 

In  matters  of  social  interest,  Washington  took  the 
attitude  that  the  white  and  black  races  should  remain 
separate  like  the  fingers^of  the  hand.  The  announce- 
ment of  this  principle  in  1897  at  Atlanta,  known  as 
the  Atlanta  Compromise,  raised  a  storm  of  protest  on 
the  part  of  many  colored  people.  While  Jim  Crow 
regulations,  such  as  separate  cars  and  waiting  rooms 
reduce  race  friction,  they  are  humiliating  to  self-re- 
specting Negroes.  Booker  T.  Washington,  however, 
always  strongly  advised  his  people  that  before  demand- 
ing social  recognition,  they  should  do  things  in  a  ma- 


128  Americanization 

terial  and  mental  way  that  would  merit  recognition. 
Industrial  unity  with  and  social  separateness  from  the 
white  race,  thus,  became  Washington's  doctrine.  In 
support  of  this  view,  Washington  spoke  and  labored 
heroically. 

The  opposing  division  of  the  Negro  race  has  been 
lead  by  W.  E.  B.  DuBois  and  others.  Professor  Kelly 
Miller,  while  highly  appreciative  of  Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington's viewpoint  and  work,  leans  to  DuBois'  side  of 
the  issue.  Dr.  DuBois  holds  that  the  Negro  problem 
consists  in  removing  the  white  man's  prejudice  against 
the  black  race.  He  asks  that  all  pre-judgments  against 
the  Negro  be  removed  and  believes  that  then  the  Ne- 
gro will  prove  himself  capable  and  worthy.  The  pre- 
judice against  the  Negro  results  in  isolation  both  ways : 
the  Negro  is  shut  off  from  the  best  of  Caucasian  cul- 
ture; and  the  Caucasian  is  prevented  from  understand- 
ing the  Negro.  The  following  excerpts  present  Dr. 
DuBois'  point  of  view: 

"The  humblest  white  employee  knows  that  the  bet- 
ter he  does  his  work  the  more  chance  there  is  for  him 
to  rise  in  business.  The  black  employee  knows  that 
the  better  he  does  his  work  the  longer  he  may  hope 
to  do  it ;  he  cannot  often  hope  for  promotion. 

"Thus  the  white  young  man  starts  in  life  knowing 
that  within  some  limits  and  barring  accidents,  talent 
and  application  will  tell.  The  young  Negro  starts 
knowing  that  on  all  sides  his  advance  is  made  doubly 
difficult  if  not  wholly  shut  off  by  his  color. 

"Why  deride  the  Negro  race  for  not  producing 
scholars  when  a  few  decades  ago  it  was  denied  the  use 


The  Negro  129 

of  letters?  Why  expect  great  Negro  statesmen  where 
Negroes  are  not  allowed  to  vote?* 

Among  Southern  white  people,  the  attitude  of 
Thomas  Nelson  Page  is  typical.  Mr.  Page  believes  that 
the  Negro  problem  centers  in  the  fact  that  the  old  feel- 
ings of  affection  that  existed  between  many  members 
of  the  two  races  before  the  Civil  War  have  now  passed 
away  and  been  supplemented  by  indifference,  misun- 
derstanding, and  even  by  hostility.  Mr.  Page  states 
that  the  hostility  toward  the  Negro  in  the  South  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  younger  generation  of  Negroes  have 
been  taught  that  they  are  the  social  equals  of  the  white 
man,  and  that  they  are  always  trying  to  prove  that 
teaching  in  every  way  except  the  right,  that  is,  by  gen- 
uine worth  and  work.^  It  is  thus  the  contention  of 
Mr.  Page  that  the  Negro  is  primarily  at  fault  and  must 
change  his  attitude. 

At  this  place  mention  may  'be  made  of  the  Clansman, 
or  the  Birth  of  a  Nation,  a  motion  picture  film  which 
deals  in  part  with  the  Negro  problem.  This  film  does 
the  Negroes  gross  injustice  in  their  relations  with  the 
white  race.  While  the  harrowing  illustrations  of  the 
actions  of  individual  Negroes  undoubtedly  represent 
actual  happenings,  they^resent  the  darkest  phases  of 
Negro  life.  They  exhibit  the  meanest  elements  in  the 
Negro  regime  during  the  Reconstruction  period.  Only 
a  few  glimpses  of  the  worthy  side  of  Negro  character 
are  shown.  The  Clansman  gives  historical  half-truths. 
Its  vivid  representations  in  picture  form  appeal  directly 
to  the  emotions,  engender  race  hatred,  and  re-open 

*The  Philadelphia  Negro,  ch.  XIV. 
^The  Negro-    The  Southerner's  Problem. 


130  Americanization 

healed  sores.  As  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  depicts  the  white 
race  in  its  worst  treatment  of  the  colored  race,  so  the 
Clansman  presents  the  colored  race  in  its  worst  atti- 
tudes toward  the  white  man. 

Northern  white  people  have  said  that  the  Negro 
problem  rests  in  the  failure  of  the  Southerner  to  per- 
ceive that  he  has  an  unfilled  social  'responsibility  to 
meet  in  behalf  of  the  colored  man.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  by  several  writers  that  there  is  a  white  problem 
as  well  as  a  black  problem  in  the  United  States.  A  new 
social  attitude  is  needed  by  the  Southern  white  peo- 
ple as  well  as  by  the  Negro.  Southern  white  people 
must  keep  in  mind  the  need  of  assisting  the  Negro  to 
help  himself  up.  On  this  point  the  most  valuable  and 
succinct  discussion  is  that  by  George  Elliot  Howard, 
entitled  "The  Social  Cost  of  Southern  Race  Preju- 
dice."« 

According  to  Dr.  Howard,  the  South,  as  a  whole, 
can  advance  only  when  all  the  inhabitants  attain  high 
levels  of  efficiency,  and  when  all  are  successful  and 
progressing.  The  same  rule  applies  likewise  to  the 
nation.  In  matters  of  law  and  order,  in  the  fields  of 
health  and  upright  living,  the  entire  South  is  depend- 
ent upon  the  character  and  welfare  of  the  humblest 
citizen.  If  sections  of  the  South  are  degraded,  the 
contamination  will  weaken  the  whole  mass. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  discussion  it  may  be  said 
that  the  Negro  problem  in  our  country  originally  cen- 
tered in  slavery,  then  in  reconstruction,  then  in  disen- 
franchisement,  and  recently  in  segregation,  but  always 
in  race  prejudice. 

^Anier.  Jour,  of  Sociology,  XXII:S77-93. 


The  Negro  131 

What  should  an  Americanization  program  include 
that  will  help  solve  the  Negro  problem?  First,  there 
must  be  wholesale  education  along  agricultural,  indus- 
trial, and  trade  lines  for  the  mass  of  the  Negro  race, 
and  higher  educational  provisions  for  the  members  of 
the  race  who  are  fitted  to  undertake  advanced  studies. 
This  educational  program  must  include  instruction  in 
the  fields  of  personal  worth  and  social  responsibility, 
and  give  that  broad  training  of  mind  and  spirit  which 
will  produce  large  numbers  of  Negro  leaders  for  the 
race.  In  this  movement  all  must  participate,  white  and 
black.  North  and  South,  the  Federal  Government  and 
state  governments.  The  Negro  asks  if  it  is  demo- 
cratic for  Southern  States  on  an  average  to  spend  sev- 
eral times  as  much  money  annually  in  educating  each 
white  child  as  in  educating  each  colored  child?  The 
Negro  insists  that  the  ignorant  person  cannot  act  in- 
telligently, and  that  abusing  him  cannot  make  him 
act  intelligently.  The  problem  aftects  the  welfare  of 
the  entire  nation  and  its  solution  requires  the  careful 
attention  of  the  whole  country. 

A  second  type  of  procedure  is  to  keep  the  ballot 
open  to  the  Negroes  who  are  prepared  to  exercise  its 
prerogatives.  In  1868,  ttie  grievous  mistake  was  made 
of  giving  the  Negro  the  right  of  sufifrage  before  he 
was  educated  and  fitted  to  assume  civic  responsibilities. 
But  in  a  political  democracy,  we  should  educate  first, 
and  then  give  the  right  of  suffrage.  Consequently,  ac- 
cording to  the  democracy  of  the  Constitution,  Negroes 
are  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  voting  as  rapidly  as 
they  as  individuals  are  prepared  to  pass  fair  citizenship 
tests.    The  world,  listening  to  our  profession  of  democ- 


132  Americanization 

racy,  cannot  understand  why  colored  people  should 
be  allowed  to  vote  in  the  Northern  States  but  denied 
that  opportunity  in  the  Southern  States. 

We  face  the  anomalous  situation  of  having  con- 
scripted the  Negro  for  military  purposes  and  of  consid- 
ering him  good  enough  to  give  up  his  life  and  all  that 
he  holds  dear  for  the  sake  of  his  country,  but  not  gOtKl 
enough  to  be  trained  for  citizenship.  In  a  perfected 
democracy  all  individuals  who  may  be  called  on  to 
sacrifice  their  lives  for  thefr  country  are  entitled  to 
citizenship  training.  The  Negro  is  especially  entitled 
to  this  training,  for  his  loyalty  is  unquestioned,  he  has 
no  hyphen  in  his  name,  he  is  not  an  alien,  he  gives  no 
allegiance  to  any  other  country,  he  is  willing  to  fight 
and  die  for  democracy. 

''Do  you  vote?''  a  Negro  in  Louisiana  was  asked. 
"I  done  passed  up  politics  long  ago,"  he  replied.  *'l 
got  property  enough  to  qualify,  but  its  onhealthyf 
This  statement  illustrates  the  chief  phase  of  the  prob- 
lem of  educating  the  Negro  for  voting  and  of  keeping 
the  vote  open  to  him  when  he  is  prepared. 

A  third  procedure  is  to  undermine  race  prejudice. 
Each  race  is  prone  to  see  the  faults  of  and  to  overlook 
the  best  qualities  in  other  races.  There  is  need  for  a 
renaissance  of  the  attitude  of  recognizing  true  worth, 
wherever  it  shows  itself,  irrespective  of  race,  color,  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude.  The  Negro,  when 
given  the  advantages  and  training  which  the  Caucasian 
has  had  during  the  last  few  centuries,  will  probably 
make  a  worthy  record  as  a  race.  Race  superiority  seems 
to  rest  largely  on  physical  environment  and  cultural 
backgrounds. 


The  Negro  133 

A  new  light  on  the  Negro's  record  was  given  at 
the  National  Conference  of  Social  Work  in  1918  by 
James  W.  Johnson  who  pointed  out  that  for  every  100 
colored  citizens  called  in  the  first  conscription,  36  qual- 
ified for  service,  while  out  of  every  100  white  citizens, 
25  qualified.  Further,  a  lower  percentage  of  Negroes 
than  Caucasians  were  rejected  for  tuberculosis,  for 
alcoholism,  for  flat-footedness,  and  for  feeble-minded- 
ness."^  If  given  time  and  opportunity,  the  Negro  ap- 
parently will  manifest  attainments  which  will  show 
that  pure  prejudice  against  him  is  unfair  and  hence 
undemocratic. 

Race  prejudice  must  be  overcome  if  lynch  procedure 
is  to  be  stopped.  In  every  munth  of  the  year,  lynch- 
ings  in  dehance  of  law  occur  in  the  United  States. 
Concerning  lynchings.  President  Wilson  said  that 
''every  one  of  them  has  been  a  blow  at  the  heart  of 
ordered  law  and  human  justice."  Every  person  who 
assists  in  a  lynching  is  a  betrayer  of  democracy,  ac- 
cording to  President  Wilson.  Race  prejudice  in  so 
far  as  it  manifests  itself  in  lynchings  in  a  land  "where 
the  courts  of  justice  are  open  and  the  governments  of 
the  states  and  the  nation  are  ready  and  able  to  do  their 
duty"  is  undemocratic^  "How  shall  we  commend 
democracy  to  the  acceptance  of  other  peoples,  if  we 
disgrace  our  own  by  proving  that  it  is,  after  all,  no 
protection  to  the  weak?"  « 

It  was  James  Bryce  who  asked  how  could  "the 
haughty  assertion  of  superiority  by  the  whites  and  the 
suppressed  resentment  of  the  more  advanced  among 
the  colored  people,  be  prevented  from  ripening  into 

^National  Conference  of  Social  Work.  1918,  pp.  385 ff. 


134  Americanization 

a  settled  distrust  and  hostility?"^  Mr.  Bryce  answered 
his  own  question  by  asserting  that  race  prejudice  might 
be  treated  successfully  by  an  application  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Gospels. 

As  the  Negro  rises  on  the  scale  of  industrial  suc- 
cess and  of  social  worth,  he  must  take  special  care 
not  to  assume  a  haughty,  boastful,  or  superior  attitude. 
By  so  doing  he  can  help  materially  in  allaying  race 
prejudice  against  him.  His  achievements  and  worth 
will  speak  more  constructively  for  him  than  oratory  or 
argument  can  do.  The  white  man,  likewise,  needs  to 
show  continuously  an  attitude  of  good  feeling  and  a 
spirit  of  helpfulness  toward  the  Negro.  In  his  deal- 
ings with  the  Negro,  he  cannot  afford  as  an  American 
to  act  unjustly  or  unnecessarily  to  arouse  resentment. 

By  nature,  the  Negro  is  affectionate,  teachable,  will- 
ing. He  possesses  a  talent  for  public  speaking  and  a 
remarkable  love  of  music.  The  latter  expresses  itself 
either  in  spirituals  and  folk  songs,  or  in  ragtime  and 
jazz.  Almost  the  only  outlet  for  the  musical  ability 
of  a  Negro  young  person  is  the  vaudeville  and  other 
inferior  institutions  —  institutions  which  pull  a  Negro 
down  rather  than  help  him  up. 

The  Negro  is  "exasperatingly  cheerful  under  the 
worst  conditions."  He  has  a  saving  and  refreshing 
sense  of  humor.  He  fights  well  for  his  country.  He 
is  highly  patriotic.  He  is  singularly  susceptible  to  im- 
provement, open  to  religious  suggestions,  and  carries 
with  him  the  genius  of  a  long-suffering  virtue.^     "He 

^The  American  Commonwealth,  VI  :529. 

^A.  B.  Hart,  National  Ideals  Historically  Traced,  pp.  50,  65. 


The  Negro  135 

has  accepted  the  tongue,  the  religion,  the  literature, 
and  the  standards  of  his  former  masters." 

We  need  to  develop  the  habit  of  appreciating  the  N^- 
gro's  good  traits,  of  helping  him  to  help  himself  up 
the  educational  highways,  and  of  keeping  the  ballot 
open  to  him  when  he  is  qualified  to  use  it.  And  he, 
on  the  other  hand,  must  center  his  attention  upon  gen- 
uine achievement  and  solid  worth  both  as  an  individual 
and  as  an  American. 


PROBLEMS 


1.  What  was  the  main  factor  in  the  African  history 

of  the  Negro  ? 

2.  What  was  the  chief  element  in  the  slavery  status 

of    the  Negro    for    understanding    the  Negro 
problem  ? 

3.  What  fundamental  mistake  was  made  at  the  close 

of  the  Civil  War  in  dealing  with  the  Negro? 

4.  How  far  is  the  N^gro  allowed  to  vote  today? 

5.  What  can  be  done  toward  olivine:  the  Negro  the 

vote  in  such  a  state  as  Mississippi  where  the 
Negro  represents  a  majority  of  the  people? 

6.  How  do  you  rate  the  industrial  progress  which 

the  Negro  has  made  in  the  last  fifty  years? 

7.  What  percentage  of  Negroes  have  white  blood? 

8.  What  is  the  main  cause  of  this  admixture? 

9.  Is  the  mulatto  a  higher  type  than  the  full  blood 

Negro  ? 


136  Americanization 

10.  If  race  conflict  always  ends  in  either  (a)  depor- 

tation, (b)  extermination,  or  (c)  miscegena- 
tion, how  will  the  Caucasian-Negro  conflict  in 
this  country  end? 

11.  Is  miscegenation  increasing  or  decreasing? 

12.  How  does  the  Negro  rank  criminally?    Why? 

13.  What  is  the  difference  in  the  treatment  of  the 

Negro  criminal  in  the  North  and  in  the  South  ? 

14.  How  do  you  explain  the  Negro's  status  with  ref- 

erence to  poverty  ? 

15.  What  is  the  social  significance  of  Negro  dolls? 

16.  Why  does  the  Negro  in  the  South  today  have 

fewer  contacts  with  the  Caucasian  than  under 
slavery  ? 
•7.     Do  American  school  teachers  give  equal  oppor- 
tunity to  the  black  child  and  the  white  child  in 
the  school  room? 

18.  Will  education  of  the  Negro  eliminate  race  preju- 

dice against  him? 

19.  Why  do  many  Negro  children  seem  unable  10 

learn  after  reaching  the  age  of  12  or  13  years? 

20.  If  a  Negro  infant  were  reared  from  birth  under 

the  same  advantages  as  a  white  child,  would  he 
develop  to  the  same  degree? 

2 1 .  What  is  the  Black  Belt  ? 

22.  Compare  Washington's  and  DuBois'  solutions  for 

the  Negro  problem. 

23.  Compare  the  North  and  the  South  in  their  re- 

spective attitudes  toward  the  Negro. 

24.  Who  should  assume  the  major  responsibility  in 

solving  the  Negro  problem? 


The  Negro  137 

25.  Is  it  true  that  ''those  who  want  to  keep  the  Negro 

down,, need  to  get  up  themselves"? 

26.  What  would  you  suggest  as  an  adequate  solution 

of  the  Negro  problem  ? 

27.  Distinguish  between  the  Negro's  problem  and  the 

Negro  problem. 


Chapter  X 
THE  MOUNTAINEER 

There  are  between  2,000,000  and  3,000,000  moun- 
taineers in  the  United  States  whose  environment  pre- 
cludes their  contact  with  progress.  The  chief  group 
of  these  Americans  is  located  in  Appalachia;  other 
groups  of  a  miscellaneous  nature  are  found  in  the 
Ozarks,  Adirondacks,  Rockies,  and  Nevadas.  The 
Appalachian  mountaineers,  because  of  their  large  num- 
bers, will  receive  the  major  attention  in  this  chapter. 

Appalachia  has  been  described  as  one  of  the  land- 
locked areas  of  the  earth,  ''more  English  in  speech 
than  Britain  itself,  more  American  by  blood  than  any 
other  part  of  America,  encompassed  by  a  high-ten- 
sioned  civilization,  yet  less  affected  today  by  modern 
ideas,  less  cognizant  of  modern  progress,  than  any 
other  part  of  the  English-speaking  world." ^  Appa- 
lachia is  500  miles  long  by  200  miles  wide,  or  nearly 
as  large  as  the  combined  area  of  the  New  England 
states  and  New  York.  It  comprises  over  200  moun- 
tain counties,  and  includes  100,000  square  miles  of 
territory.  It  begins  at  the  southern  boundary  of  Penn- 
sylvania, extends  through  West  Virginia,  and  includes 
the  mountainous  section  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
and  South  Carolina,  Eastern  Tennessee,  Eastern  Ken- 
tucky, Northern  Georgia,  and  Northern  Alabama. 

The  people  of  Appalachia  are  of  Scotch,   Scotch- 

^Horace  Kephart,  Our  Southern  Highlanders,  p.  380. 


"'^^  The  Mountaineer  139 

Irish,  Anglo-Saxon,  Swiss,  and  Palatinate  German 
origin.  They  are  in  part  of  Cavalier  and  Huguenot 
ancestry.  According  to  President  W.  G.  Frost,  of 
Berea  College,  they  are  our  contemporary  ancestors. 
They  are  the  descendants  chiefly  of  Scotch-Irish  and 
Scotch  colonists  who  straggled  up  into  the  Appa- 
lachian fastnesses  and  settled  down  while  time  went 
on.  They  are  anthropological  survivals  of  colonial 
days.  They  represent  a  larger  proportion  of  Sons  and. 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  than  any  other 
group  of  people  in  the  United  States.^ 

The  mountaineers  of  Appalachia  may  be  divided 
into  three  classes:  the  advanced,  the  normal,  and  the 
degenerate.^  The  advanced  type  live  in  the  cultivated 
valleys  that  are  in  direct  contact  with  civilization. 
They  have  established  prosperous  cities.  It  is  this  class 
that  produced  Stonewall  Jackson,  Daniel  Boone,  An- 
drew Jackson,  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  normal 
mountaineer  is  in  a  belated  state.  He  has  come,  how- 
ever, from  a  good  racial  stock,  and  his  backwardness 
is  due  not  to  lack  of  ability,  but  to  lack  of  stimulation. 
To  him,  the  leading  place  in  this  chapter  will  be  given. 
Then,  there  is  the  degenerate  in  the  mountains  who  in 
many  ways  is  like  the  "poor  white  trash''  of  the  rural 
lowlands.  He  corresponds  also  to  the  lowest  social 
strata  in  our  cities.  He  is  largely  the  product  of  in- 
breeding. 

In  mountainous  regions  many  unusual  conditions 
are  found.  Elizabeth  W.  Klingberg  describes  inter- 
estingly a  large  family  in  Appalachia  in  which  the 

^W.  G.  Frost,  "Our  Contemporary  Ancestors  in  the  Southern  Moun- 
tains," Atlantic  Mon.,  83  :311ff. 
^S.  T.  Wilson,  The  Southern  Mountaineers,  pp.  19ff. 


I40  Americanization 

youngest  two  children  were  without  "given"  names.'* 
It  was  impossible  to  enroll  them  in  school.  When  the 
teacher  visited  the  home,  the  mother  gave  the  almost 
incredible  explanation  that  all  the  names  she  knew 
or  liked  had  been  given  to  the  older  children,  and  that 
she  had  been  totally  unable  to  provide  names  for  the 
youngest  two.  In  this  home,  there  was  no  scrap  of 
reading  matter,  no  Bible,  almanac,  or  school  book. 

Carpets  on  the  floors  of  single  room  cabins  are  rare. 
A  piece  of  cloth  placed  in  a  tin  of  grease  serves  the 
purposes  of  a  lamp.  Barter  prevails.  Chickens  some- 
times serve  as  money;  the  "face  value"  of  a  hen  is  said 
to  be  about  three  yards  of  calico.  Eggs  are  used  in 
making  change. 

Little  scientific  knowledge  is  available.  Diseases, 
such  as  trachoma,  are  prevalent.  In  191 6,  it  was  re- 
ported that  in  one  county — Knott  County,  Kentucky, 
three  state  parties.  Democratic,  Republican,  and  Pro- 
gressive, had  planks  in  their  platforms  asserting  that 
they  would  fight  trachoma  in  that  county  through  gov- 
ernmental action. 

From  the  daily  speech  of  the  Southern  mountaineers, 
hundreds  of  words  have  been  gathered  which  have 
been  obsolete  since  about  the  sixteenth  century  or  have 
survived  only  in  the  dialects  of  England.^  Some  of 
these  words  possess  a  decided  Chaucerian  flavor.  Sam- 
ple terms  are  smilingest,  talkingest,  knittingest,  jail- 
house,  bible-book,  nap  o'  creek,  creek  o'  land.  In  cer- 
tain localities,  to  be  angry,  means  to  be  ambitious; 
worrited,  to  be  tired;  and,  flower-pot,  any  kind  of  a 

*South  Atlantic  Quarterly,  October,  1915. 

^S.  S.  MacClintock,  "The  Kentucky  Mountaineers  and  Their  Feuds," 
Amer.  Jour,  of  Sociology,  VII:27£f. 


The  Mountaineer  141 

bouquet.  The  quaint  methods  of  expression  and  the 
independent  attitude  of  mind  are  indicated  in  the  fol- 
lowing statements : 

"Wal,  I  reckon  things  is  about  evened  up  in  this 
world.  You've  been  everywhere  and  seen  everythin', 
but  I  kin  spin." 

''We  uns  that  cain't  read  or  wTite  have  a  heap  of 
time  to  think,  and  that's  how  we  know  more  than  you 
all." 

The  typical  preachers  have  been  noted  for  their  lack 
of  education.  They  must  be  "called";  they  must 
preach  without  preparation.  Salaried  ministers  have 
been  considered  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord.  The 
preaching  is  still  dogmatic,  hortatory,  and  dramatic. 
Various  Baptist  denominations  are  the  most  common 
types  of  religious  bodies;  Methodists  and  Presbyteri- 
ans are  also  represented. 

The  mountaineer's  conception  of  the  country  at 
large,  of  current  Americanism,  of  international  issues 
is  "shadowy  and  attenuated."  Regarding  the  affairs 
of  the  world,  he  has  little  conception.  National  prob- 
lems, ordinarily,  are  so  far  remote  from  the  daily 
thinking  of  the  average  mountaineer  that  these  vital 
affairs  rarely  enter  the  ra«ge  of  his  interests. 

A  visitor  to  the  mountain  fastnesses  from  Chicago 
or  Washington  or  Atlanta  is  called  a  "furriner."*  A 
person  from  Europe  may  be  called  "an  outlandish." 
When  Mr.  Bryan  returned  from  his  trip  around  the 
globe,  a  mountaineer  referred  to  the  Nebraskan  as 
having  "kem  back  from  the  other  world." 

In  time  of  national  war,  the  mountain  people  are 

"Kephart,  op.  cil.,  p.  17. 


142  A  mericanizatio  n 

ready  to  volunteer.  Their  emotions  are  quickly 
aroused.  Their  records  as  fighters  are  replete  with 
deeds  of  bravery,  from  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain 
to  the  present  time.  In  the  Civil  War  they  furnished 
100,000  volunteers  for  the  Union  armies.  Their  record 
in  the  recent  World  War  was  likewise  splendid.  But 
their  patriotism  is  of  the  eighteenth  century  colonist 
type.  They  love  liberty.  They  are  glad  to  die  for  lib- 
erty. They  possess  the  characteristics  of  a  funda- 
mental social  democracy.  Social  castes  are  almost  un- 
known among  mountaineers.  The  prevailing  social 
standard  is  best  expressed  in  their  own  language: 
"I'm  as  good  as  you  are." 

The  family  and  the  clan  are  perhaps  the  outstanding 
social  units.  An  offense  to  one  member  of  the  clan  is 
considered  an  offense  to  all  members.  Feuds  result. 
The  causes  of  these  feuds  are  manifold,  (i)  Blood 
relationship  is  the  bond  of  social  solidarity;  there  is 
no  neutral  ground.  (2)  The  people  possess  the  Buff  aid 
Bill  type  of  fighting  spirit  which  is  a  characteristic  of 
pioneering  in  the  wilderness.  The  heavily-loaded  pis- 
tol hangs  ready  at  the  hip,  while  the  dangerous  Win- 
chester is  a  common  possession.  (3)  Overlapping  land 
claims  frequently  result  in  temporary  disputes  that  cul- 
minate in  blood  feuds.  In  Kentucky,  the  land  titles 
are  more  confused  than  in  any  other  American  state, 
because  of  the  overlapping  land  grants  that  have  been 
made.  (4)  Sheriffs  and  other  representatives  of  the 
law  freqeuntly  favor  one  side  or  the  other  in  a  feud. 
Consequently,  the  individual  feudist  acquires  the  habit 
of  administering  justice,  as  he  sees  fit,  and  on  his  own 
initiative.     (5)  A  man  who  refuses  to  participate  in 


The  Mountaineer  143 

a  feud  and  to  fight  for  his  clan  is  ostracized  by  his 
own  group.  (6)  There  is  a  lack  of  steady,  organized 
work  and  a  consequent  abundance  of  time  which  leads 
to  idleness.  Jealousies  and  personal  enmities  quickly 
arise,  and  conversation  and  small  talk  take  precedence 
over  work. 

The  mountaineer  has  been  frequently  alienated  from 
whole-hearted  adoption  of  Americanism  because  of 
the  exploitation  of  the  natural  resources  of  his  moun- 
tain homelands  by  commercial  enterprise.  He  has  been 
startled  by  the  screaming  of  steam  whistles  and  the 
booming  of  dynamite.  He  has  watched  the  best  trees 
of  the  forests  fall  and  float  down  the  streams.  He  has 
seen  the  rivers  dammed  and  their  forces  transformed 
into  units  of  colossal  power.  He  has  been  dazed  "by 
electric  lights,  nonplused  by  speaking  wires,  awed  by 
vast  transfers  of  property,  incensed  by  rude  demands. 
Aroused,  now,  and  wild-eyed,  he  realizes  with  sinking 
heart  that  here  is  a  sudden  end  of  that  Old  Dispensa- 
tion under  which  he  and  his  ancestors  were  born,  the 
beginning  of  a  New  Order  that  heeds  him  and  his 
neighbors  not  a  whit.""^  In  addition  to  the  suddenness 
of  the  commercial  invasion  there  is  its  mercenary  and 
ruthless  character.  The  jjfords  of  a  Northern  lumber- 
man are  reported  by  Horace  Kephart  as  follows :  "All 
that  we  want  here  is  to  get  the  most  we  can  out  of 
this  country,  as  quick  as  we  can,  and  then  get  out." 
This  dispossession  of  the  mountaineer,  although  car- 
ried out  by  native  Americans,  is  truly  deplorable  and 
makes  the  work  of  genuine  Americanization  infinitely 
difficult. 

■^Kephart,  op.  cit.,  p.  381. 


144  Americanization 

What  contributions  can  the  highlander  make  to 
Americanism?  He  is  noted  for  his  independence  of 
spirit  and  his  pride.  He  has  been  unable  to  fall  back 
upon  others  for  help;  he  has  had  to  cultivate  his  own 
resourcefulness  at  every  turn.  He  is  equally  proud 
of  his  individual  success  and  his  mountain  habitat.  An 
old  settler  from  the  mountains  of  Northern  California 
visited  San  Francisco  a  fev^  years  ago  after  having  been 
away  from  that  city  for  several  decades.  The  village 
which  he  had  last  seen  in  1857  had  grown  into  a  daz- 
zling city.  He  was  shown  the  urban  marvels  and  was 
expected  to  exclaim  in  terms  of  wonder  and  amazement 
by  the  proud  urbanite  who  conducted  him  about.  In- 
stead, in  a  spirit  of  ennui,  he  merely  replied:  "Wal, 
I  reckon  things  have  changed  some  since  I  was  here 
before."  He  was  anxious  to  return  to  his  mountain 
environment  with  its  (to  him)  superior  advantages. 
A  mountain  woman  who  visited  rural  friends  in  Ohio 
was  glad  to  return  to  her  mountain  home,  whereupon, 
she  exclaimed :  "Law  sakes,  there  warn't  nary  a  hill 
fer  me  to  land  my  eyes  up  aginst." 

The  independence  and  pride  of  the  mountaineer  are 
shown  in  many  ways.  He  admires  the  established 
order;  and  "to  change  it,  is  fairly  impious."  He  scorns 
the  strangers  who  boast  about  modern  improvements. 
"Shrewdly  he  observes  them  in  their  relation  to  each 
other : 

'Each  man  is  some  man's  servant. 
Every  soul  is  by  some  other's  presence  quite  dis- 
crowned.' 

Proudly  he  contrasts  his  ragged  self:  he  who  has  never 


The  Mountaineer  145 

acknowledged  a  superior,  never  has  taken  orders  from 
living  man,  save  as  a  patriot  in  time  of  war."^  He 
refuses  to  carry  an  umbrella;  such  an  act  he  considers 
the  mark  of  a  w^eakling.  He  will  suffer  severe  pain 
without  flinching.  He  hides  his  emotions ;  his  feelings 
are  subliminal.    He  scorns  luxury  as  being  effeminate. 

Typical  mountain  people  are  hospitable  and  obliging 
to  a  surprising  degree.  They  welcome  frank  and  kind- 
ly treatment ;  they  are  quick  to  resent  an  air  of  patron- 
izing condescension.  They  are  reticent,  but  sensitive. 
Delicacy  and  privacy  are  uncommon  among  them. 
When  once  aroused,  they  speak  bluntly  and  without 
fear  of  consequence.^  Their  honesty  is  rarely  ques- 
tioned. Moral  stamina  is  characteristic  of  these  *'but- 
ternut-jeansed,  rawhide-booted,  and  calico-sunbonneted 
people."  They  are  noted  for  strong  physiques  and  pow- 
ers of  endurance.  They  possess  an  elemental  courage 
and  an  unflinching  sense  of  justice.  Their  unjaded 
nerves  are  in  strong  distinction  to  urban  neurasthenia. 
Their  quaint  humor  is  a  valuable  asset.  Their  indiffer- 
ence to  luxury  is  a  much-needed  antidote  to  the  deplor- 
able urban  extravagance.  They  possess  many  qualities 
which  when  rightly  and  extensively  acquired  through- 
out the  United  States  v^^uld  greatly  strengthen  oui 
Americanism. 

Americanization  of  the  mountaineers  involves  mov- 
ing them  forward  two  centuries  on  the  dial  of  Amer- 
ican civilization.  "Time  has  lingered  in  Appalachia.'* 
The  people  are  unacquainted  with  civilization;  they 
constitute    sound    material   for  the  twentieth-century 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  381. 

^he  descriptions  of  mountain  life  in  the  novels,  for  example,  of 
John  Fox,  Jr.,  possess  scientific  value. 


146  A  mericaniza  Hon 

Americanization  process.  They  must  be  released  from 
their  shackles  of  ignorance.  They  must  be  freed  from 
their  blood-feuds.  Their  loyalty,  which  is  high  in  view 
of  their  isolation,  must  be  put  in  tune  with  current 
American  ideals.  For  the  reason  that  they  and  the 
nation  have  grown  apart,  they  must  receive  the  sym- 
pathetic attention,  of  the  nation. 

The  mountaineers  need  protection  from  inbreeding 
and  the  resultant  degeneracy  that  is  found  in  many 
mountain  regions.  They  need  to  be  educated  indus- 
trially, freed  from  poverty,  and  enabled  to  possess  the 
fullness  of  their  localities.  Education  should  be  ex- 
tended widely  and  without  stint  by  Federal,  state,  and 
local  governments,  working  together.  The  regular  day 
schools  and  industrial  and  trade  schools  should  be  es- 
tablished wherever  mountain  people  live.  Model  farms 
are  needed  in  every  mountain  county.  Traveling 
teachers,  wisely  chosen,  could  work  peaceful  revolu- 
tions.    Citizenship  work  is  an  outstanding  necessity. 

But  the  greatest  need  of  all  is  the  multiplication  of 
the  activities  of  all  those  institutions  like  Berea  Col- 
lege, where  native  mountain  leaders  are  being  trained. 
Mountain  regions  can  be  truly  Americanized  only 
through  the  proper  training  of  native  mountain  leaders 
—  leaders  to  show  the  way  agriculturally,  industrially, 
domestically,  patriotically.  The  result  of  this  Ameri- 
canization program  would  be  the  training  of  good  far- 
mers, good  housewives,  good  mechanics,  good  patriots 
and  Americans.  And  in  return,  the  mountaineer  can 
contribute  to  Americanism  many  needed  qualities  — 
physical  endurance,  neural  solidity,  moral  courage,  and 
indifference  to  enervating  luxury. 


The  Mountaineer  147 


PROBLEMS 

X.     Why  have  the  mountaineers  not  advanced? 
2.     Why  are  feuds  so  common  among  the  Appalach- 
ian mountaineers? 
Why  are  mountaineers  so  pronounced  in  their 

likes  and  dislikes? 
Distinguish  between  the  Settlement  School,  the 
Moonlight  School,  and  the  Mountain  College? 

5.  What  is  the  most  important  quality  that  a  teacher 

of  the  mountaineers  should  possess? 

6.  What  would  happen  to  the  physical  endurance, 

nerve  stability,  and  indifference  to  luxury  of 
the  mountaineer  if  he  were  brought  into  contact 
with  twentieth  century  Americanism? 

7.  How  can  you  educate  the  mountaineer  when  he 

considers  education  a  luxury  and  a  disutility? 

8.  If  the  Appalachians  come  from  the  same  ener- 

getic stock  as  other  Americans,  why  do  they 
not  overcome   their  environment? 

9.  Are  the  best  traits  of  the  riiountaineer  a  result  of 

his  isolated  condition? 
TO.     What  are  the  chief  gifts  that  the  mountaineers 

can  make  to  Americanism? 
IT.     What  is  the  greatest  need  of  the  mountaineers? 


PART  THREE 

THE  FOREIGN-BORN  AND  AMERICAN 
IDEALS 

Chapter  XI 

THE  NORTH  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANT 

The  North  European  immigrant  includes  the  Eng- 
lish, the  Celt,  the  Scandinavian,  the  Dutch,  and  the 
German.  These  peoples  came  as  colonists  and  immi- 
grants and  gave  Americanism  its  fundamental  trend. 

The  English  stand  at  the  head  of  the  group  in  their 
influence  upon  the  United  States.  They  have  given 
us  our  language.  As  forms  circumscribe  and  give  di- 
rection to  tendencies,  thus  the  English  language  has 
exerted  a  widely  unsuspected  influence  upon  American 
life.  By  using  that  language  we  have  been  fed  un- 
consciously and  continually  from  the  storehouses  of 
thought,  literature,  and  customs  of  the  English  people 
with  their  millenium  of  national  experiences. 

Our  primary  social  institutions  have  come  from  the 
English.  Our  attitudes  toward  the  family  and  the 
school  originated  in  large  part  in  England.  Our  po- 
litical and  social  institutions  are  English.  England 
gave  us  our  first  ideas  concerning  civil  liberty  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Our  stand- 
ards of  right  and  wrong  and  our  religious  conceptions 
have  been  either  made  or  molded  bv  British  influence. 


The  North  European  Immigrant  i^q 

The  English  colonist  and  immigrant  have  contrib- 
uted strong  intellectual  powers  to  American  life.  As 
their  language  brought  to  us  the  richness  of  the  Greek, 
Latin,  Celtic  and  Anglo-Saxon  cultures,  so  their  race 
has  contributed  to  our  type  an  amalgamation  of  Celtic, 
Norman-French,  and  Anglo-Saxon  qualities.  They 
have  brought  more  bodily  vigor,  endurance,  and  con- 
stitutional energy  than  any  other  group  of  immi- 
grants. In  fact,  they  have  determined  the  fundamental 
nature  of  the  American. 

Their  psychical  gifts  include  decision,  nerve-energy, 
and  intellectual  independence.  ''Each  man  walks,  eats, 
drinks,  shaves,  dresses,  gesticulates,  and  in  every  man- 
ner acts  and  suflfers  without  reference  to  the  bystand- 
ers," except  to  be  careful  not  to  interfere  with  them. 
Each  newcomer  from  England  is  an  island  in  himself.^ 
He  is  self-contained.  He  brings  a  towering  degree  of 
self-assurance.  "Of  all  persons,  the  Englishman  stands 
firmest  in  his  shoes." 

His  social  contributions  to  American  life  include  an 
emphasis  upon  plain  dealing,  a  habit  of  matching  plain 
force  with  force,  a  reluctance  to  run  away,  a  desire  to 
die  game.  He  has  brought  to  our  shores  an  admira- 
tion for  custom  and  propriety.  He  prefers  those  cus- 
toms 'Svhere  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  back 
to  the  contrary."  He  is  fastidious  in  wanting  things 
done  in  good  torm.  He  prides  himself  on  the  exact- 
ness of  his  clothing  and  equipage. 

He  has  stood  for  individualism  and  conservatism. 
He  admires  you  if  you  are  decided  in  your  opinions 
and  tender  toward  honored   customs.     He  possesses 

^R.  W.  Emerson,  English  Traits,  p.  104. 


150  Americanization 

many  anomalous  elements  in  his  nature.  A  contra- 
dictory factor  in  his  democratic  character  is  evidenced 
by  the  homage  he  pays  to  wealth  and  to  the  laws  of 
inheritance,  in  his  tolerance  of  an  antiquated  House  of 
Lords,  and  a  king  stripped  of  political  power. 

The  Englishman's  self-restraint  is  especially  notice- 
able when  compared  with  American  volubleness.  His 
stoical  self-control  contrasts  with  American  enthusi- 
asm. His  conservatism  is  clearly  delineated  when 
thrown  upon  the  screen  of  American  adaptability.  An 
English  publisher  hesitates  to  accept  a  manuscript  in 
an  entirely  new  field,  while  an  American  publisher  will 
not  consider  a  manuscript  unless  it  represents  a  new 
realm  of  thouq-ht.  An  American  officer  visited  a  tailor 
shop  in  London  in  order  to  have  the  pocket  in  his 
military  coat  altered.  The  English  tailor  after  examin- 
ing the  coat  replied  slowly :  "It  can't  be  done."  *'But," 
said  the  officer,  "do  you  know  what  an  American 
tailor  would  do?  He  would  examine  the  pocket  and 
say:  'Be  seated;  it'll  be  ready  for  you  in  twenty  min- 
utes.' " 

Amercanization  should  include  a  program  for  the 
development  of  a  better  understanding  by  Americans 
of  their  English  heritage.  In  our  schools,  we  are 
taught  concerning  our  wars  against  England;  our  ha- 
tred for  the  Red  Coats  of  Revolutionary  days  remains 
with  us.  We  are  rarely  taught  our  indebtedness  to  the 
English,  that  we  were  a  part  of  England  politically  for 
two  centuries  —  a  longer  period  than  that  of  our  ex- 
istence as  a  separate  nation.  We  forget  that  we,  more 
than  any  other  nation,  are  the  children  of  England  in 
social  ideals. 


The  North  European  Immigrant  1 5 1 

Our  likemindedness  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  her 
colony,  Canada,  and  we  have  lived  side  by  side  for 
many  years  in  peace  without  establishing  or  thinking 
of  establishing  large  standing  armies  and  bristling  for- 
tresses. Canada  and  the  United  States  have  given  the 
world  an  actual  exhibition  during  the  past  decades  of 
that  future  day  when  nations  shall  live  in  such  a  con- 
dition of  agreement  that  even  defensive  armaments 
will  not  be  needed.  Canada  and  the  United  States 
have  demonstrated  a  new  expression  of  international 
friendship. 

On  the  6ther  hand,  the  Englishman  in  the  United 
States  today  must  bear  an  important  part  in  a  suc- 
cessful Americanization  movement.  He  can  do  much 
to  further  a  better  understanding.  He  must  be  careful 
to  soften  his  idiosyncracies.  Too  many  English  trav- 
elers in  the  United  States  have  presented  themselves 
as  dudes  or  snobs.  By  them,  unfortunately,  we  have 
been  prone  to  judge  all  Englishmen.  Moreover,  the 
English  immigrant  is  very  reluctant,  as  a  rule,  to  be- 
come a  citizen  of  our  country.  Although  he  is  like  us 
in  many  ways  and  enjoys  living  here,  he  holds  aloof 
from  citizenship,  preferring  to  live  in  part  in  the  mem- 
ory of  the  distinguished^  traditions  of  his  fatherland. 
Americanization  of  the  English  immigrant  is  a  deli- 
cate matter,  involving  a  sympathetic  understanding  on 
the  part  of  both  Americans  and  English  immigrants.^ 

The  English  immigrant  feels  that  he  is  an  elder 
brother  to  us  and  that  he  —  like  nearly  all  the  other 

^The  reader  will  find  a  valuable  discussion  of  the  problems  which  a 
Britisher  must  solve  in  giving  up  his  loyalty  to  Great  Britain  and 
becoming  an  American  subject  in  "On  Becoming  an  American"  by  H. 
J.  Bridges. 


152  Americanization 

immigrants  '  from  Europe  —  has  come  from  an  older 
and  more  dignified  civilization  than  ours.  He  feels 
that  Americanization  advances  may  come  only  from 
him.  But  these  advances  often  come  tardily  and  even 
not  at  all.  The  Americanization  program  —  based  on 
a  need  for  undivided  allegiance  —  cannot  wait  unduty. 
The  difference  betv^een  an  American  and  an  English- 
man which  causes  trouble  when  the  question  of  Amer- 
icanization arises  has  been  well  stated  by  Ian  Hay 
Beith  in  his  essay,  "Getting  Together"  :  The  American 
feels  that  he  belongs  to  the  greatest  nation  on  the  earth, 
and  freely  says  so  to  the  English  immigrant ;  the  latter 
feels  that  he  comes  from  the  greatest  nation  on  the 
earth,  and  does  not  say  so,  because  he  assumes  that 
every  American  agrees  with  him.  A  better  understand- 
ing of  these  differences  will  serve  to  make  easier  the 
difficult  task  of  Americanizing  English  immigrants. 

The  Celtic  immigrants  have  brought  to  America  the 
characteristics  of  one  of  the  oldest  stocks  of  Europe. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Julius  Caesar  made  refer- 
ence to  the  lively  traits  of  one  of  the  early  Celtic 
tribes.  The  story  of  the  Middle  Ages  is  replete  with 
Celtic  activities.  By  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Celts 
had  become  divided  into  politically  and  religiously  an- 
tagonistic groups,  e.  g.,  the  Scotch,  Welsh,  and  Irish. 
In  American  pioneer  days  the  Presbyterian  Scots,  or 
Scotch-Irish,  played  the  chief  Celtic  role.  In  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  coming  of  the  millions  of  the  Cath- 
olic Irish  was  the  leading  Celtic  event  in  America. 

The  Welsh,  rich  in  traditions  and  literature,  have 
been  slow  to  migrate.  In  the  years  preceding  the 
World  War,  Welsh  immigrants  to  the  United  States 


The  North  European  Immigrant  153 

rarely  exceeded  1000  a  year.  They  have  settled  chiefly 
in  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Illinois. 

The  Scotch  are  either  Highlanders  or  Lowlanders. 
The  former  are  conservative  and  not  given  to  migra- 
tion. The  latter  have  migrated  both  to  Canada  and 
the  United  States.  They  have  furnished  many  sturdy 
pioneers  to  the  New  World. 

The  Scots  who  migrated  to  the  United  States  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  originally  lived  in  Scotia,  "a 
lowland  pocket  of  territory"  in  southwest  Scotland. 
They  represented  an  amalgamation  of  Caledonians  or 
Picts,  Britons,  Irish,  Norwegians,  Angles,  Saxons,  and 
Danes.  In  1610,  large  numbers  of  this  amalgamated 
people  were  moved  to  Ulster,  the  northern  province  of 
Ireland.  They  leased  the  Irish  lands  which  had  been 
confiscated  by  English  and  Scottish  lords  at  the  request 
of  James  I  of  England,  who  wished  to  transform  Cath- 
olic Ireland  into  a  Protestant  Scotland  or  England. 

By  the  year  1700,  the  Ulstermen  had  developed  ex- 
tensive woolen  and  linen  manufactures.  These  indus- 
tries were  suddenly  cut  off  by  the  enactment  of  Irish 
legislation  at  the  behest  of  the  British  crown,  which 
forbade  the  exportation  of  woolen  and  linen  goods 
from  Ireland.  A  few  years  later  the  one  hundred  year 
leases  that  the  Scots  held  on  the  Ulster  lands  began 
to  expire.  For  the  new  leases,  the  Irish  overbid  the 
Scots  and  left  them  landless.  Heavy  emigration  re- 
sulted. Large  numbers  came  annually  to  the  American 
colonies. 

As  these  Scots  migrated  from  Ireland,  they  became 
known  in  America  as  Scotch-Irish.  Finding  Congre- 
srationalism  the  established  state  church  in  Massachu- 


154 


Americmmatio  n 


setts,  they  migrated  to  Pennsylvania  and  adjoining 
colonies.  Later,  they  moved  into  Ohio,  Kentucky,  In- 
diana, Illinois.  Wherever  they  went,  they  were  men 
of  action.  They  became  pioneers,  doers,  darers.  They 
have  contributed  more  than  any  other  race  to  that 
type  of  American  known  as  the  Pioneer.  They  led  in 
the  building  of  the  West. 

The  Scotch-Irish  brought  with  them  the  spirit  of 
democracy  as  developed  in  the  Scotch  kirk,  a  hatred 
of  autocratic  political  domination,  and  an  iron  will. 
Will  power  is  their  leading  contribution  to  American 
life.  In  war,  exploration,  and  government,  their  lead- 
ers have  been  many  and  noted.  The  high  point  of 
Scotch  Irish  immigration  was  reached  about  1720,  and 
hence,  the  Scotch-Irish  played  an  honored  and  inte- 
gral role  in  the  establishment  and  development  of  the 
United  States. 

Irish  immigrants  began  to  come  to  the  United  States 
in  noticeable  numbers  about  1846.  The  failure  of  the 
potato  crop  in  Ireland  and  English  economic  oppres- 
sion combined  to  throw  Ireland  into  a  state  of  starva- 
tion. The  operation  of  underlying  causes  made  the 
Irish  people  peculiarly  helpless  in  the  presence  of  the 
potato  famine.  Landlord  greed  had  reduced  them  to 
a  low  economic  level.  The  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
cattle,  sheep,  and  other  livestock,  and  other  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  bushels  of  grain  that  were  shipped 
from  Ireland  during  the  famine  would  have  been  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  the  disaster,  but  Ireland  had  no  self- 
government  and  was  unable  to  put  an  embargo  on  these 
large  quantities  of  food. 

In  185 1,  the  immigration  to  the  United  States  of 
the  Irish  reached  a  quarter  of  a  million,  its  highest 


The  North  European  Immigrant  155 

point.  Immigration  continued,  however,  in  the  sub- 
sequent decades,  but  in  diminished  numbers.  Irish 
immigration  to  the  United  States  has  totaled  about 
5,000,000,  a  figure  larger  than  that  represented  by 
English  immigration,  larger  than  the  present  popula- 
tion of  Ireland,  and  exceeded  only  by  the  German  im- 
migration to  the  United  States.  Boston  and  New 
York  have  been  pronounced  the  largest  Irish  cities  in 
the  world. 

The  Irish  immigrant  has  come  from  a  land  where 
he  has  been  in  a  sense  a  man  without  a  country,  where 
he  could  not  improve  the  premises  which  he  leased 
without  having  his  rent  raised,  and  where  he  has  been 
a  strong  nationalist  and  has  wanted  home  rule.  In 
the  United  States,  he  has  forged  ahead  into  positions 
of  leadership  in  city  wards  and  labor  unions.  He  has 
had  large  and  sometimes  notorious  representation 
among  ward  bosses  and  strike  leaders. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  has  reached  a  noteworthy 
rank  in  his  ability  to  govern.  When  Mayor  John  P. 
Mitchell  and  the  m. embers  of  his  cabinet  came  to  Chi- 
cago, and  were  the  guests  of  the  City  Club  at  luncheon, 
Henry  Bruere,  the  only  member  of  the  mayor's  offi- 
cial family  present  who^as  not  an  Irishman,  declared 
that  to  govern  one's  self  is  godlike,  but  to  govern  others 
is  Hibernian.  Further,  a  city  school  superintendent 
is  reported  as  saying:  *'Of  two  applicants,  I  take  the 
teacher  with  an  Irish  name,  because  she  will  have  less 
trouble  with  the  problem  of  discipline  and  she  will 
'hit  it  off'  better  with  the  parents  and  the  neighbor- 
hood." 

Because  of  his  temperament,  the  Irishman  adjusts 
himself  quickly  to  American  institutions.     He  is  quick 


156  Americanization 

to  appreciate  the  feelings  of  others.  He  is  noted  for 
his  congeniality,  which  in  places  has  gone  to  the  ex- 
tremes of  conviviality.  His  imagination  is  a  valuable 
asset.  He  is  a  good  newspaper  reporter,  actor,  and 
public  speaker.  He  stirs  the  hearts  of  people.  The 
Irishman  'has  lent  a  greatly  needed  optimistic  quality 
to  American  life.  His  lively  good  nature,  quick  wit, 
and  illogical  humor  are  needed  to  balance  the  too 
serious,  materialistic  phases  of  Americanism. 

The  strongest  mental  trait  of  the  Irish  immigrant  is 
his  striking  disregard  of  circumstances.^  Anything 
or  anybody  who  arouses  his  wrath,  feels  his  quick,  on- 
coming rush.  He  is  a  fighter,  but  is  far  better  on  an 
offensive  than  on  a  prolonged  defensive.  Quick  in  ac- 
tion and  reaction,  he  lands,  when  tripped,  on  his  feet. 
His  ability  is  available  at  the  moment,  wherever  he  is. 
His  main  assets  as  an  American  citizen  are  generosity, 
joviality,  quickness  in  wit  and  action. 

The  Scandinavians  have  sent  more  than.  2,500,000 
of  their  people  to  America.  They  represent  the  Euro- 
pean race  which  first  discovered  America.  While  the 
Norsemen  came  a  millennium  ago,  and  while  Scandi- 
navians arrived  in  colonial  times,  it  was  not  until  the 
days  of  the  steamship  that  Scandinavian  immigration 
assumed  definite  proportions.  The  advertising  of  the 
steamship  companies,  the  unsuccessful  Dano-Prussian 
war  of  1866,  and  an  industrial  depression  in  Norway 
combined  in  starting  many  emigrants  to  the  United 
States.    This  movement  culminated  in  1883. 

Scandinavia  has  sent  many  trained  artisans,  but 
chiefly  farmers    and    unskilled    workers.     Minnesota, 

^E.  A.  Ross,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  pp.  40ff. 


The  North  European  Immigrant  157 

the  Dakotas,  and  Wisconsin  have  been  their  leading 
destinations.  The  Scandinavian  immigrant  carried  to 
the  United  States  his  love  for  education.  Because  of 
his  insignificant  percentage  of  illiteracy,  he  has  soon 
learned  English,  and  has  been  assimilated  readily.  In 
fact,  he  has  become  assimilated  in  less  time  than  any 
other  non-English  speaking  immigrant.  The  second 
generation  is  scarcely  distinguishable  from  American- 
born  children. 

The  Scandinavian's  demeanor  is  quiet,  he  sings  in 
a  minor  key,  and  his  folk-song  possesses  the  dreaminess 
of  the  Orient.*  He  is  slow  to  anger.  He  is  not  easily 
moved  by  fiery  eloquence.  He  does  not  indulge  in 
street  rioting  as  a  means  of  righting  political  v^rongs. 
A  slirewd  lawyer  who  is  defending  violent  lawbreakers 
tries  to  keep  the  Scandinavians  from  the  jury  box. 

The  Danish  immigrant  is  the  Southerner  of  Scandi- 
navia. He  comes  from  a  nation  of  farmers,  who  are 
among  the  best  trained  and  most  intellectual  agricul- 
turists of  the  world.  He  is  a  strong  advocate  of  rural 
education,  a  rural  press,  and  rural  political  organiza- 
tions. He  comes  from  a  country  in  which  the  farmer 
constitutes  the  ruling  class, and  a  dominant  element  in 
Parliament.  His  is  a^heritage  which  is  democratic 
industrially  as  well  as  politically,  which  denies  the 
rights  of  special  privilege,  and  which  believes  in  a  gov- 
ernment operated  by  the  producers.^ 

In  the  United  States,  the  Dane  has  l>een  a  home 
builder.  "East,  West,  hame's  best."  The  Dane  is  also 
noted  in  this  country  as  a  successful  dairy  farmer, 

*E.  A.  Steiner,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  p.  113. 
«Howe,  F.  C,  "The  High  Cost  of  Living,"  ch.  X. 


158  Americanization 

chiefly  in  the  Middle  West.  He  is  famed  in  the  skilled 
trades.  The  best  known  Danish  immigrants  to  the 
United  States  are  Nils  Paulson,  philanthropist,  and 
Jacob  Riis,  social  worker. 

Swedish  immigrants  are  singularly  homogeneous. 
Their  home  center  is  gregarious  Stockholm.  Theirs 
is  a  people  which  has  given  a  world-beloved  and  sweet- 
voiced  Jenny  Lind  to  music,  a  Strindberg  to  literature, 
and  a  Nobel  to  invention  and  philanthropy.  Co-educa- 
tion and  out-of-door  life  have  given  their  daughters  a 
combination  of  sturdiness  and  femininity.  Swedish 
immigrants  have  brought  to  the  United  States  the  ways 
of  a  genteel  ancestry. 

In  the  United  States,  the  Swedish  immigrants  have 
been  agriculturists  in  the  northern  states  of  the  Middle 
West,  and  have  become  owners  of  large  farms.  In 
cities,  they  have  been  mechanics  and  have  worked  into 
the  professions.  Senator  I.  L.  Lenroot,  and  Governors 
J.  A.  Burnquist  and  John  Lind,  of  Swedish  descent, 
have  attained  national  distinction.  The  Swedish  peo- 
ple have  established  several  colleges  in  the  United 
States,  for  example,  Bethany  College,  Lindsburg,  Kan- 
sas, and  Augustana  College,  Rock  Island,  Illinois. 

The  Norwegian  is  the  product  of  a  more  rigorous 
climate  than  is  his  Swedish  cousin.^  He  is  more  re- 
served, more  austere  in  religion,  less  demonstrative, 
and  less  advanced  culturally.  But  when  stimulated  and 
aroused,  he  is  likely  to  go  ahead  with  force  and  ag- 
gressively improve  his  opportunities. 

The  Norwegian  immigrant  has  "the  high  spirit  of  a 
people  which  has  never  known  the  steam-roller  of  feu- 

«Ross,  op.  ciL,  82ff. 


The  North  European  Immigrant  159 

dalism."  It  is  said  that  he  could  order  the  king  off 
his  land  if  he  so  desired.  He  has  been  described  as 
"a  big,  rough,  uncultured  child  of  nature";  he  has 
come  from  stony  and  water-soaked  lands  which  have 
yielded  him  a  bare  existence.  His  life  in  the  home 
land  has  been  one  of  toil  and  brooding,  without  com- 
fort except  that  of  his  steadfast  religious  faith.  His 
race  has  produced  Ibsen,  Bjornson,  and  Grieg.  Ibsen 
has  influenced  profoundly  not  only  Scandinavians  but 
continental  Europe,  England,  and  America.  Bjornson 
has  been  so  beloved  that  the  mention  of  his  name  to 
his  countrymen  "is  like  running  up  the  national  flag" 
of  Norway.  Grieg  has  reproduced  in  musical  composi- 
tion the  northern  folk-songs  and  "the  wild,  northern 
landscapes." 

The  Norwegian  immigrant  has  become  prominent 
in  agriculture,  settling  chiefly  in  Illinois,  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  and  the  Dakotas.  He  has  also  gone  into 
the  fishing  and  canning  industries,  and  into  many  of 
the  skilled  trades.  In  national  life,  he  has  been  repre- 
sented by  men  such  as  Senators  Knute  Nelson  and  A. 
J.  Gronna. 

The  Dutch  have  wielded  an  American  influence  far 
in  excess  of  their  numerical  strength  in  our  country. 
They  contributed  to  English  civilization  before  they 
influenced  America,  and  thus,  indirectly,  through  the 
English  we  are  indebted  to  them.  In  the  days  of 
Henry  VIII,  the  people  of  Holland  were  more  ad- 
vanced in  many  things  than  the  English  or  the  French 
and  were  constructively  influencing  the  immediate  an- 
cestors of  many  of  the  colonists. 

In  New  Amsterdam  itself  a  certain  cosmopolitanism 
prevailed  which  was  characteristic  of  the  Netherlands. 


1 6o  A  meric  animation 

The  life  in  New  Amsterdam  is  described  by  the  his- 
torians as  being  free,  gracious,  and  broadly  tolerant. 
The  Dutch  colonists  stood  for  educational  progress; 
they  established  an  educational  system  in  New  Am- 
sterdam as  early  as  1621.  Both  sexes  received  the  ad- 
vantages of  education.  For  that  early  day,  men  and 
women  possessed  a  unique  type  of  equality.  Neither 
party  was  married  to  the  other ;  each  was  married  with 
the  other. "^  Sometimes  the  marriage  contract  provided 
that  the  wife  and  husband  should  inherit  absolutely 
from  the  other.  Marriage  was  established  upon  mu- 
tuality. 

The  Dutch  early  sponsored  freedom  of  the  ballot, 
and  the  square  deal  in  all  things.  Not  the  least  part 
that  they  have  played  in  American  development  is  their 
role  in  founding  New  York  City.  The  majority  of 
Dutch  immigrants  have  become  farmers  in  the  Middle 
West,  oftentimes  establishing  extensive  rural  colonies. 
As  traders,  they  have  settled  in  Eastern  cities ;  and  as 
technical  engineers,  in  the  industrial  cities.  They  are 
noted  for  their  thrift.  Since  1607,  when  Henrick 
Hudson  sailed  up  the  majestic  river  which  bears  his 
name,  the  Hollanders  have  furnished  many  leaders  to 
American  life,  for  example,  Philip  Schuyler,  and  Pres- 
idents Van  Buran  and  Roosevelt. 

Immigrants  from  Belgium  have  not  come  to  the 
United  States  in  large  numbers.  They  are  of  Celtic 
origin,  being  descendants  of  the  ancient  Celts  called 
Belgae.  They  usually  speak  either  Flemish  or  French. 
On  one  side  they  have  acquired  Dutch  and  German 

■^A.  W.  Calhoun,  A  Social  History  of  the  American  Family,  1:167, 


The  North  European  Immigrant  i6i 

traits;  and  on  the  other,  many  French  characteristics. 
They  are  Roman  Catholics  in  religion. 

In  the  United  States  the  Belgians  have  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  and  the  trades.  They  established 
important  rural  colonies,  notably  in  Illinois,  where  they 
have  become  prosperous  farmers. 

The  first  German  migration  to  this  country  occurred 
in  1682  and  the  succeeding  years,  as  a  result  of  the 
activities  of  William  Penn  and  his  agents.  At  this 
time,  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  and  other  settle- 
ments were  made  by  Pietists,  Tunkers,  Schwenkfeld- 
ers,  Mennonites,  and  other  seekers  for  religious  free- 
dom. 

The  next  German  migration  occurred  between  1848 
and  1855.  After  the  Napoleonic  wars,  militaristic  Ger- 
man governments  assumed  increased  autocratic  pow- 
ers. At  the  same  time  the  growth  of  the  universities 
fostered  the  rise  of  liberalism,  which  in  1848  broke 
forth  in  open  conflict  with  the  military  regime.  The 
triumph  of  the  former  was  brief;  the  latter  soon  made 
liberalism  untenable;  literally,  millions  of  people  mi- 
grated. In  1854  alone,  more  than  215,000  German 
immigrants  came  to  theJJnited  States.  This  figure  has 
been  exceeded  by  the  German  immigrants  but  once, 
namely,  in  1882. 

Following  the  successes  in  the  Franco- Prussian  war, 
Prussian  militarism  acquired  additional  power,  which 
together  with  the  economic  opportunities  in  the  United 
States  explains  the  high  tide  of  German  immigration 
which  centered  in  the  period  about  1882.  In  the  open- 
ing years  of  the  present  century,  the  majority  of  Ger- 
mans were  coming  from  outside  the  boundaries  of 


1 62  'Americanization 

Germany  —  chiefly  from  Austria-Hungary.  Over 
6,000,000  Germans  have  migrated  to  the  United  States. 

The  German  immigrant  brought  a  doctrine  of  per- 
sonal liberty  v^hich  was  akin  to  the  colonist  concept 
of  liberty.  The  outstanding  individual  of  the  1848- 
1855  liberalists  from  Germany  v^as  Carl  Schurz,  who 
attained  the  rank  of  major  general  in  the  Civil  War, 
the  position  of  minister  to  Spain,  and  of  secretary  of 
the  interior  in  the  cabinet  of  President  Hayes.  The 
movement  of  liberals  to  the  United  States  has  produced 
bitter  opponents  of  special  privilege  in  property,  such 
as  many  of  the  Socialist  Party  leaders  in  this  country. 

The  German  immigrant  of  the  nineteenth  century 
attracted  attention  to  himself  because  of  his  unremit- 
ting industry  and  thrift.  He  entered  early  upon  agri- 
cultural pursuits;  he  pushed  into  the  Middle  West 
where  he  reaped  substantial  returns  for  his  labors.  His 
business  success  in  the  United  States  has  also  been 
noteworthy.  It  has  been  due,  not  to  taking  chances, 
but  to  steady  plodding.  He  has  taken  fewer  chance^ 
"in  the  lottery  of  life  than  his  enterprising  Scotch- 
Irish  or  Yankee  neighbor."  Unfortunately,  his  success 
has  often  led  him  into  gross  materialism.  His  con- 
tributions to  business  advance  in  the  United  States  are 
attested  by  the  mention  of  names,  such  as  Schwab, 
Stetinius,  Heinz,  Spreckles,  Busch,  Studebaker,  Her- 
shey,  Gunther,  Kohlsaat,  Knabe,  Steinway,  Bausch, 
and  Lomb. 

The  German  immigrants  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
as  well  as  their  children,  have  become  as  a  rule  loyal 
American  citizens.  They  have  repudiated  and  con- 
demned militarism  and  autocracy,  both  industrial 
and  political,  for  which  Germany  by  19 14  had  become 


The  North  European  Immigrant  163 

notorious.  But  the  immigrant  from  Germany  who 
came  in  the  early  years  of  this  century  has  brought  a 
stubborn  degree  of  loyalty  to  the  fatherland.  He  has 
been  exceedingly  reluctant  to  renounce  his  allegiance 
and  faith  in  Germany.  It  is  with  these  immigrants 
that  the  tasks  of  Americanization  are  difficult.  The 
older  German  immigrant  has  reacted  positively  against 
the  educational  system  of  Germany  whereby  the  masses 
have  been  turned  into  armies  for  the  domination  of  the 
world.  The  newer  immigrant  has  been  slow  to  give 
up  aristocratic,  materialistic  concepts,  and  has  hindered 
the  advancement  of  democratic  idealism  in  the  United 
States. 

The  North  European  has  been  the  backbone  of 
Americanism.  But  not  all  his  best  traits  have  yet 
found  expression  and  not  all  his  energy  and  ability  has 
been  turned  to  improving  the  quality  of  our  democracy. 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Wliy  did  the  English  settlements  in  America  suc- 

ceed better  than  the  colonies  of  other  peoples? 

2.  Distinguish   bet^^een   the    individualism    of   the 

American  and  of  the  Englishman. 

3.  Why  is  the  Englishman  slow  to  understand  an 

American  joke? 

4.  What  have  been  the  main  contributions  of  the 

English  to  Americanism  ? 

5.  Why  do  Americans  generally  fail  to  appreciate 

their  indebtedness  to  the  English? 

6.  Distinguish  between  the  Irish  and  Scotch-Irish. 

7.  Explain  the  term,  Hibernian. 


164  Americanization 

8.  Why  have  Irish  immigrants  entered  politics? 

9.  Why  are  there  relatively  few  Irish  millionaires? 

10.  Distinguish  between  the  Norwegian  and  Swedish 

immigrants. 

11.  Who  is  the  leading  Swedish  inventor?    Author? 

Singer? 

12.  Who  is  the  chief  Norwegian  dramatist?    Musical 

composer? 

13.  Why  do  Scandinavians  assimilate  rapidly  in  the 

United  States? 

14.  Who  would  you  say  was  the  leading  German  im- 

migrant who  has  succeeded  in  politics  ?    In  bus- 
iness?   In  music? 

15.  What  should  be  our  post-war  attitude  toward 

German  immigrants? 

16.  Who  are  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch? 


Chapter  XII 
THE  SOUTH  EUROPEAN  IMMIGRANT 

The  French,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese,  the  Swiss, 
the  Italians,  and  the  Greeks  are  the  races  which  are 
here  included  in  the  term.  South  European  Immigrant. 
The  Jugo-Slavs  will  be  discussed  in  the  following 
chapter. 

Although  the  French  began  to  migrate  to  America 
in  the  days  of  La  Salle  and  Louis  XIV,  French  migra- 
tion has  always  been  small  in  numbers  and  has  not 
caused  serious  assimilation  problems  except  in  New 
England  whither  the  French  immigrants  from  Canada 
settled.  French  immigration  has  been  of  three  dis- 
tinct types :  the  Huguenots,  the  French  Canadians,and 
modern  skilled  classes. 

The  Huguenots,  who  came  in  colonial  days,  were 
a  select  group  of  manufacturers  and  merchants.  They 
were  enterprising  and  educated.  They  sought  liberty. 
They  were  the  Protestants  or  Puritans  of  France,  char- 
acterized by  austerity  and  purity.  They  settled  chiefly 
in  South  Carolina,  but  also  in  other  states,  such  as 
Virginia  and  New  York.  They  furnished  able  Ameri- 
can leaders,  notably  John  Jay  and  General  Francis 
Marion. 

From  Canada  many  French  peasants  have  migrated 
to  the  New  England  states.  The  French-Canadians 
entered  the  mills  or  engaged  in  the  fishing  industry  in 
New  England.    Here  they  have  colonized  and  not  be- 


1 66  Americanization 

come  assimilated.  They  have  shown  a  reluctance  to 
adopt  American  ways.  Their  illiteracy  has  been  rela- 
tively high.  They  have  experienced  considerable  dis- 
satisfaction with  factory  and  living  conditions  in  the 
New  England  towns  and  cities  and,  consequently,  there 
has  been  a  noticeable  return  migration  to  French 
Canada. 

Nineteenth  and  twentieth  century  migration  from 
France  has  included,  chiefly,  skilled  and  professional 
people.  Very  few  peasants  have  come  direct  from 
France.  Our  relations  with  France  have  been  largely 
of  a  military,  diplomatic,  and  cultural  nature  rather 
than  of  an  immigration  character.  The  recent  French 
immigrants  have  been  skilled,  commercial,  and  profes- 
sional in  type.  Skilled  workers  have  located  in  Fall 
River,  New  York  City,  and  Paterson,  New  Jersey.  In 
Paterson,  they  have  been  prominent  in  developing  the 
silk  industry.  New  Orleans  still  remains  a  leading 
center  of  French  influence.  After  all,  French  influence 
in  the  United  Sattes  has  radiated  chiefly  from  the 
eighteenth  century  philosophic  trinity  of  Truth,  Equal- 
ity, and  Justice. 

The  Spanish,  long  a  migratory  people  and  noted  for 
their  uniformity  of  type,  have  never  migrated  to  the 
United  States  in  large  numbers.  They  have  gone  to 
Mexico,  the  Central,  and  the  South  American  repub- 
lics, and  to  the  islands  of  the  adjoining  seas.  They 
have  penetrated  our  Southern  states  from  Florida  to 
California,  but  chiefl.y  in  our  pre-national  days.  The 
early  Spanish  settlements  were  established  in  territory 
w^hich  later  became  a  part  of  the  United  States.  By 
this  indirect  method,  Spanish  influence  has  been  strong. 
The  effects  of  these  pioneering  efforts  have  been  per- 


The  South  European  Immigrant  167 

sistent,  especially  in  matters  of  religion,  architecture, 
amusements,  music. 

In  recent  decades,  the  direct  immigration  has  been 
very  small.  Spanish  immigration  for  the  past  cen- 
tury has  consisted  of  an  irregular  movement  of  indi- 
viduals from  the  near-by  Spanish-speaking  countries. 
The  skilled  workers  have  gone  to  the  large  cities,  such 
as  Cleveland,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  to  special 
centers,  such  as  Tampa  and  Newark.  There  has  been 
also  an  immigration  of  miscellaneous  unskilled 
workers. 

The  immigration  of  Portuguese  has  raised  prob- 
lems out  of  proportion  to  the  small  numbers  which 
have  migrated.  The  Portuguese  have  rarely  come 
direct  from  Portugal,  but  from  the  Cape  Verde,  Azores, 
and  even  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

One  of  the  chief  Portuguese  settlements  in  the 
United  States  is  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 
These  people  are  in  part  the  descendants  of  a  group 
of  Portuguese  who  were  shipwrecked  off  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  Portuguese  in 
our  country  are  in  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and 
adjoining  states,  where  they  have  gone  into  the  textile 
industries.  Another  iStge  proportion  of  the  Portu- 
guese immigrants  are  in  the  central  parts  of  California, 
where  they  are  engaged  in  fruit-raising. 

The  standards  of  living  of  the  Portuguese  immi- 
grant are  low.  The  illiteracy  has  been  very  high. 
Hence,  segregation  is  common,  and  Americanization 
and  naturalization  are  taking  place  slowly. 

The  Swiss  people  are  of  French,  Italian,  and  Ger- 
man descent.  The  German  Swiss  have  furnished  about 
two-thirds  of  the  Swiss  immigration  to  the  United 


1 68  Americanization 

States.  Immigration  to  our  country  began  about  1845. 
Some  came  as  adventurers,  some  as  land  seekers,  and 
others  as  craftsmen. 

The  German  Swiss  have  gone  into  dairying;  the 
French  Swiss,  into  the  restaurant  and  hotel  business; 
and  the  Italian  Swiss,  into  the  grape  and  fruit  indus- 
tries, notably  in  California.  AH  three  groups  have 
leading  representatives  in  the  jewelry  business.  All 
are  noted  as-  watch  and  clock  makers.  All  have  made 
good  records  in  the  arts  and  professions.  The  three 
groups,  as  a  rule,  remain  socially  separate  in  this  coun- 
try, but  all  become  assimilated  without  creating  spe- 
cial problems. 

The  average  American  does  not  know  the  average 
Italian.  Americans  have  studied  the  Italy  of  fine  arts, 
of  palaces,  and  of  cathedrals  but  not  the  peoples  of 
Italy.  Our  ignorance  of  Italians  is  surprising  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  for  years  Italy  sent  us  a  quarter  of  a 
million  of  her  citizens  annually,  and  that  in  New  York 
City  there  are  more  Italians  than  the  total  population 
of  Rome.  To  many  Americans,  the  Italian  is  merely 
a  vender  of  fruits,  a  hand  organ  grinder,  and  a  devotee 
of  macaroni,  or  else  he  is  an  impulsive  creature,  greatly 
jealous  of  his  wife,  a  smooth  liar,  and  in  some  way 
connected  with  the  Black  Hand. 

We  forget  that  he  comes  from  a  race  of  conquerors, 
rulers,  administrators,  artists,  musicians^  and  poets. 
We  forget  that  it  was  a  brave  and  fearless  man  of  his 
race  who  introduced  civilization  to  our  continent,  and 
that  it  was  another  man  of  his  race  whose  name  our 
continent  bears.  The  Italian  immigrant  comes  from 
a  race  which  has  three  times  led  the  world:  first,  po- 
litically; second,  religiously;  and  third,  intellectually. 


The  South  European  Immigrant  169 

The  Italian  comes  from  a  stock  which  has  produced 
world  leaders,  for  example,  Columbus,  Marco  Polo, 
Garibaldi,  Mazzini,  Savonarola,  Cavour,  Titian,  Dante, 
Michaelangelo,  Raphael,  Marconi,  Caruso,  Tetrazzini, 
not  to  mention  Cicero  and  his  compatriots. 

The  Italian  immigrant  comes  from  North  Italy  or 
from  South  Italy  and  Sicily.  The  geographical  and 
cultural  divisions  might  easily  be  increased.  The  two- 
fold classification  will  suffice  here.  The  North  Italian 
is  more  advanced  than  the  South  Italian  and  Sicilian. 
In  proportion  to  his  numbers,  his  percentage  of  illit- 
eracy is  one-third  as  large,  his  school  attendance  is 
twice  as  great,  he  employs  twice  as  many  teachers  and 
librarians,  he  publishes  many  more  books,  and  buys 
more  lottery  tickets  than  his  southern  neighbors.^  He 
earns  higher  wages  in  the  United  States,  acquires  cit- 
izenship sooner,  is  less  turbulent,  less  criminally  in- 
clined, less  transient  than  the  South  Italian  and  Sicilian 
immigrant. 

Three-fourths  of  the  large  Italian  immigration  to 
the  United  States  has  come  from  South  Italy  and  Sicily 
where  the  people  have  suffered  long  from  economic 
oppression,  low  wages,  and  exorbitant  taxes.  The 
birth-rate  in  Southern  Italy  is  very  high  and  the 
density  of  population  is  exceeded  in  only  a  few  places 
on  the  globe. 

To  the  ordinary  Sicilian,  law  and  order  have  been 
symbolized  commonly  by  the  persons  of  the  tax  col- 
lector and  the  brutal  policeman.  In  Sicily,  consequent- 
ly, the  peasant  has  often  taken  the  law  into  his  own 
hands.     It  has  been  said  that  to  avenge  one's  wrongs 

^E.  A.  Ross,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  p.  98. 


170  Americanisation 

one's  self  has  been  a  part  of  Sicilian  honor.  Upon 
arrival  in  our  country,  the  Sicilian  is  naturally  dis- 
trustful of  law  and  government.  The  American  rep- 
resentatives of  our  government  need  to  give  the  new- 
comers from  Sicily  and  South  Italy  sympathetic  im- 
pressions. Fear,  dread,  and  suspicion  of  governmental 
officers  need  to  be  allayed  as  a  first  step  in  furthering 
the  Americanization  process. 

In  his  love  of  art,  and  especially  music,  the  Italian 
immigrant  has  valuable  qualities  to  contribute  to  Amer- 
icanism. Every  Italian  city  has  its  art  gallery  and 
every  Italian  immigrant  is  an  art  lover.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  Italian  immigrant  who  is  sweeping 
the  street  or  working  in  the  railroad  camp  is  not  ex- 
pressing the  best  that  there  is  in  his  artistic,  esthetic 
race;  that  he  endures  his  work  as  the  only  way  open 
to  him  for  earning  money;  that  no  other  immigrant 
brings  such  a  wealth  of  beauty  interests  to  the  United 
States. 

The  Italian  immigrant  is  very  human.  He  is  easily 
pleased  and  easily  disappointed.  He  is  ready  to  in- 
convenience himself  in  order  to  do  a  good  turn.  In 
the  extreme,  he  has  been  accused  of  beinjs:  polite  to 
the  extent  that  his  word  becomes  undependable.  He 
has  a  strong  sense  of  personal  dignity,  and  a  large 
degree  of  both  personal  and  national  pride.  His  cheer- 
fulness under  stress  of  adversity  is  noticeable.  But  how 
far  have  we  availed  ourselves  of  the  constructive  po- 
tentialities of  the  Italian,  which  are  needed  for  the 
development  of  a  well-rounded  Americanism? 

A  few  years  ago  in  Ohio,  an  Italian  mining  camp 
acquired  a  reputation  which  is  conveyed  by  the  term. 
Little  Hell.    A  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  learning  of 


The  South  European  Immigrant  171 

the  nature  of  the  labor  camp,  secured  a  talking  ma- 
chine, some  records,  bearing  selections  from  Caruso 
and  Tetrazzini,  and  some  popular  Italian  airs,  and 
going  to  the  camp,  set  the  phonograph  in  motion.  He 
saw  no  ''Little  Hell,"  but  radiant  faces  and  apprecia- 
tive souls.  He  was  welcomed  by  warm  hearts  that 
were  thankful  for  the  sunshine  tliat  he  brought.  "The 
music  opened  the  camp,"  reports  Dr.  Roberts,  "and 
the  old  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  won  one  of  his  most 
glorious  battles  when  he  brought  that  group  of  Italians 
into  greater  sympathy  with  America  and  Americans  by 
the  power  of  song." 

The  process  of  assimilating  Italians  can  be  simplified 
by  appealing  to  them  through  art  and  music.  Another 
part  of  the  same  process  is  to  get  the  Italian  immi- 
grants to  contribute  their  love  of  the  esthetic  and  beau- 
tiful to  Americanism,  which  is  lacking  in  these  quali- 
ties. The  new  Americanism,  as  Dr.  Roberts  has  indi- 
cated, ought  not  to  allow  the  mirth  and  song  and  other 
valuable  qualities  which  the  Italian  possesses  to  be 
crushed  out  in  the  United  States  by  crowded  tene- 
ments, unsanitary  labor  camps,  and  the  humdrum  of 
daily  toil. 

The  Greek  immigraitt  comes  from  Socrates'  land. 
It  was  recently  pointed  out  that  the  editors  of  two 
Greek  dailies  published  in  New  York  bore  the  names 
of  Solon  J.  Ulastos  and  Socrates  Xanthaky.^  Thus 
Solon  and  Socrates  are  at  work  even  today  in  molding 
the  lives  of  young  Greeks. 

The  modern  Greek  is  a  direct  descendant  of  ancient 
and  glorious  Greece.     He  is  prone  to  indulge  in  the 

^Thomas  Burgess,  Greeks  in  America,  pp.  67,  68. 


172  Americanization 

luxury  of  taking  pride  in  his  nation's  woirderful 
achievements  in  centuries  past.  He  comes  from  a  land 
with  three  millenniums  of  continuous  history.  The  op- 
portunities for  advancement  in  the  United  States,  how- 
ever, soon  overcome  the  tendency  of  the  Greek  immi- 
grant to  rely  overmuch  on  his  racial  heritage. 

The  passionate,  quick-tempered,  excitable  nature  of 
the  Greek  often  causes  misunderstanding  in  the  United 
States.  Where  there  are  two  Greeks,  there  are  often 
three  opinions.  Loud  talking,  excited  gesticulations, 
and  a  general  commotion  that  seemingly  will  end  fa- 
tally often  prove  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  friendly 
kind  of  conversation.  Disorderly  conduct  on  the  part 
of  the  Greeks  is  sometimes  due  to  their  excitability. 

The  most  important  Greek  settlements  in  our  coun- 
try are  in  New  York  City,  Chicago,  and  Lowell.  Sec- 
tions of  these  and  other  cities  are  almost  as  Greek  as 
Athens  itself.  The  large  preponderance  of  men  — 
often  there  are  not  more  than  a  few  hundred  women 
to  several  thousand  men  —  create  moral  problems.  Ab- 
sence from  the  influence  of  women  and  of  the  home 
is  an  unfavorable  condition. 

In  our  large  cities,  the  Greeks  have  captured  several 
of  the  smaller  forms  of  business.  Shoe-shining  estab- 
lishments, fruit  stores,  candy  kitchens,  ice-cream  par- 
lors, restaurants,  and  hotels  represent  the  business  in- 
stitutions through  which  the  Greeks  are  meeting  the 
minor  wants  of  our  urban  populations.^  In  the  United 
States,  the  Greek  gains  economically,  but  often  loses  in 
health  and  domesticity. 

The  Greek  brings  to  the  United  States  valuable 
traits.     He  possesses  a  courtesy  and  hospitality  that 

^H.  P.  Fairchild,  Greek  Immigration  to  the  United  States,  p.  20. 


The  South  European  Immigrant  173 

Americans  do  not  always  show.  His  courtesy  is  born 
of  centuries  of  world-renowned  culture.  His  love  of 
drama,  music,  and  other  fine  arts  is  passionate.  It  is 
pathetic  to  listen  to  a  group  of  Greeks  in  prison,  whil- 
ing  away  an  afternoon,  singing  to  the  accompaniment 
of  a  guitar,  and  admit  that  for  some  reason  or  other 
the  process  of  Americanization  has  temporarily  broken 
down. 

The  Greek  immigrant  is  a  "natural-born**  patriot. 
His  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  freedom  is  magnificent. 
"We  are  natural  patriots,"  said  a  Greek  to  the  writer. 
"For  five 'hundred  years  we  lived  under  the  sword  of 
despotic  Turkey,"  continued  my  friend,  "and  we 
know  what  freedom  means  in  the  United  States.  You 
Americans,  having  always  lived  in  a  land  of  freedom, 
do  not  appreciate  its  advantages  the  way  we  Greeks 
do." 

As  yet,  however,  the  United  States  has  made  no 
worthy  effort  to  preserve  the  best  qualities  of  the  Greek 
immigrant.  His  love  of  drama  and  music,  his  hos- 
pitality, his  patriotism,  his  love  of  the  out-of-doors 
would  all  make  valuable  additions  to  Americanism,  and 
in  the  process  of  making  these  gifts,  the  Greek  would 
become  American.        «» 

The  status  of  the  South  Europeans,  then,  in  the 
United  States  is  as  follows :  The  French,  Spanish,  and 
Swiss,  because  of  smallness  of  numbers  and  general 
versatility  present  no  serious  problems.  The  Portu- 
guese because  of  illiteracy  and  low  standards  call  for 
special  Americanization  attention.  The  Italians  and 
Greeks,  proud  possessors  of  a  glorious  past  and  char- 
acterized by  fine  artistic  natures  are  waiting  for  oppor- 
tunities to  contribute  to  Americanism  some  of  the  very 


174  Americanization 

qualities  which  it  needs  in  order  to  become  well-bal- 
anced. 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  have  the  French  migrated  to  the  United 

States  in  relatively  small  numbers? 

2.  What  are  the  chief  contributions  of  the  Spanish 

immigrants  to  American  life? 

3.  Why  do  not  the  Spanish  migrate  to  the  United 

States  in  large  numbers? 

4.  What  factors  cause  the  differences  between  the 

North  and  the  South  Italians? 

5.  Explain  the  South  Italian's  attitude  toward  gov- 

ernment. 

6.  Why  do  the  poor  people  of  Southern  Italy  know 

grand  opera  and  the  poor  people  of  the  United 
States  know  "jazz"? 

7.  How  does  the  work  of  Marconi  supplement  the 

work  of  Columbus  ? 

8.  Who  are  the  greatest  living  Italian  artists? 

9.  Why  has  North  Italian  immigration  gone  largely 

to  South  America,  and  South  Italian  immigra- 
tion gone  chiefly  to  the  United  States? 

10.  What  gifts  has  the  Italian  immigrant  to  offer  the 

United  States? 

11.  Why  did  the  Greeks  begin  to  migrate  to  the 

United  States? 

12.  What  are  the  chief  occupations  of  Greek  immi- 

grants ? 

13.  In  what  sense  is  the  Greek  immigrant  a  natural 

patriot  ? 

14.  Who  was  Michael  Anagnostopulos  ? 


CHArXER  XIII 

THE  SLAVIC  IMMIGRANT 

The  Slavs  in  the  United  States  may  be  classified  in 
five  groups:  Poles,  Russians,  Ukrainians,  Czechoslo- 
vaks, and  Jugo-Slavs.  Other  immigrant  races  that 
are  related  to  the  Slavs,  which  will  be  discussed  in 
this  chapter  are  the  Magyars,  Lithuanians,  Letts, 
Finns,  Bulgarians,  and  Rumanians.  The  Poles  have 
come  to  the  United  States  to  a  greater  degree  than 
any  other  Slavic  group.  The  Russian  immigrants 
have  exerted  an  influence  that  is  out  of  proportion  to 
their  rather  small  numbers.  The  Ukrainian  immigrants 
are  chiefly  South  Russians  who  have  migrated  to 
Transylvania  and  Galicia,  and  thence  to  the  United 
States.  The  Czechoslovaks  are  the  westernmost  di- 
vision of  the  Slavic  peoples.  The  Jugo-Slavs  have 
come  from  Southern  Austria-Hungary,  Servia,  and 
the  Balkans. 

Polish  history  is  a  rehearsal  of  one  of  Europe's 
greatest  tragedies.  Poles  were  historically  an  enter- 
prising, war-like  race  who  built  up  an  empire  that  was 
idealistic  for  its  time,  that  twice  defeated  Asiatic 
hordes  which  attempted  to  overrun  Europe,  and  that 
at  one  time  held  an  authoritative  place  in  the  councils 
of  Europe. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  Poland  was  composed  of 
several  million  peasants  and  a  few  hundred  thousand 
nobles,  with  no  middle  class,  except  as  the  Jews  might 
be  so  considered.      Internal    dissensions   between    the 


176  ^Americanization 

widely  divergent  classes  became  rife  and  laid  the  coun- 
try open  to  invasion  on  the  part  of  greedy,  land-hun- 
gry, autocratic  neighbors.  In  the  closing  years  of 
the  eighteenth  century  Poland  fell  before  the  plotting 
of  three  imperial  robbers,  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prus- 
sia, Catherine  the  Second  of  Russia,  and  Maria  Ther- 
esa of  Austria.  From  18 15  to  183 1  a  new  kingdom 
of  Poland  (Russian)  existed  under  the  suzerainty  of 
the  Czar.  But  Poland  was  again  crushed  under  the 
heel  of  Russian  autocracy. 

Poland  was  unable  to  achieve  independence  again 
until  1918.  In  19 14,  her  divided  territories  were  un- 
der control  of  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Austria,  respec- 
tively; her  people  had  been  reduced  to  a  state  of 
political  slavery  and  industrial  servitude.  Because  of 
these  conditions  the  opportunities  offered  by  the 
United  States  have  drawn  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
Poles  across  the  Atlantic. 

Russian  Poland  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of 
Europe,  and  one  of  the  richest  corn-growing  districts 
of  the  world.  In  1914,  its  chief  city,  Warsaw,  had 
become  the  Birmingham  and  Sheffield  of  the  Russian 
Empire.^  But  there  was  no  self-government  and  even 
the  use  of  the  Polish  language  was  forbidden.  Rus- 
sian Poland  in  19 14  was  described  as  a  country  in 
which  there  were  approximately  10,000,000  Poles 
pinned  to  Russia  by  the  sword.' 

Austrian  Poland,  or  Galicia,  with  a  population  of 
about  5,000,000  in  19 14,  has  been  the  only  section  of 
former  Poland  where  the  native  language  had  not  been 
suppressed.     Its  two  leading  cities  are  Cracow  and 

^L.  E.  Van  Norman,  Poland,  pp.  124,  126. 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  177 

Lemburg.  The  former  is  said  to  be  the  most  charac- 
teristically Polish  city  in  the  world,  with  its  magnif- 
icent cathedrals  and  the  University  of  Cracow  which 
shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War  had 
celebrated  its  500th  anniversary ;  the  latter  is  the  center 
of  the  free-thinking  liberals.  Industrially  and  educa- 
tionally backward,  the  Austrian  Poles  never  developed 
any  special  degree  of  loyalty  to  Austria. 

In  Prussian  Poland,  with  Posen  as  its  chief  city, 
the  4,000,000  Poles  were  being  gradually  Prussianized 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
century  the  policy  of  Bismarck  was  inaugurated;  the 
Polish  language  was  suppressed  and  the  lands  of  the 
Poles  were  expropriated  by  the  Prussian  authorities. 
These  and  similar  arbitrary  acts  on  the  part  of  the 
government  aroused  the  Poles  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  being  Prussianized.  Their  hatred  for  Prussia 
developed  rapidly.  By  19 14,  the  Polish  situation  had 
become  the  most  serious  internal  Prussian  problem. 
Polish  newspapers  in  Prussia  were  reported  to  be  main- 
taining two  sets  of  editors,  one  to  go  to  jail  for  writ- 
ing seditious  articles,  and  the  other  to  go  on  duty 
ad  interim.^  Polish  Catholic  priests  were  reported  as 
teaching  that  even  thd*good  Lord  does  not  understand 
German. 

Then  came  the  War  —  and  another  deplorable 
Polish  tragedy.  These  people  of  an  honored  but 
dismembered  empire,  living  under  oppressive  condi- 
tions, were  compelled  to  fight  in  behalf  of  their  hated 
overlords  and  against  their  own  Polish  brethren.    The 

*W.  I.  Thomas,  "The  Prussian-Polish  Situation,"  Amer.  Jour,  of 
Sociology,  XIX:63S. 


178  Americanization 

Prussian  and  Austrian  Poles  were  pitted,  despite  their 
wills,  against  the  Russian  Poles.  Moreover,  this  forced 
inter-racial  struggle  had  to  be  fought  on  their  own 
Polish  soil  and  at  the  expense  of  the  destruction  of 
their  homes  and  property.  At  the  close  of  the  War  in 
1 91 8  it  was  authoritatively  said  that  scarcely  a  child 
under  five  years  of  age  was  alive  in  Russian  Poland. 

The  outstanding  trait  of  the  Pole  is  his  love 'of 
liberty.  The  role  of  the  Polish  knights  of  liberty  is 
almost  interminable.  The  Pole  is  not  simply  a  de- 
fender of  liberty;  but  he  goes  in  search  of  opportu- 
nities to  fight  successfully  for  the  cause.  Consider  Kos- 
ciuszko  and  Pulaski  who  came  to  fight  in  the  war  for 
freedom  in  our  country.  The  latter  gave  his  life 
in  our  behalf;  and  the  former,  years  of  valiant  service 
for  the  sake  of  American  independence.  While  leading 
the  ill-fated  Poles  in  one  of  their  risings  against  the 
Russian  tyrants,  Kosciuszko  fell  wounded.  In  de- 
scribing this  incident  the  English  poet,  Campbell,  gave 
immortality  to  the  leading  Polish  characteristic  as 
follows : 

Freedom  shrieked  when  Kosciuszko  fell. 

What  patriot  of  any  fatherland  has  ever  raised  a 
question  so  significantly  loyal  as  that  of  the  Polish 
Kraszevski  who  asked:  "Can  heaven  really  be  so 
grand  as  to  make  us  forget  Poland?" 

At  a  banquet  in  New  York  City  a  few  years  ago, 
a  Polish  patriot  declared :  "Where  liberty  is,  there  is 
my  country."  But  a  younger  Pole  more  accurately 
expressed  the  Polish  spirit,  when  he  asserted :  "Where 
liberty  is  not,  there  is  my  country."     The  Pole  fights 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  179 

not  simply  for  Polish  liberty,  but  for  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty anywhere. 

Polish  love  of  art  stands  out  strongly.  In  the  field 
of  music,  Chopin's  iconoclastic  ideas  cry  out  the  trage- 
dy of  Poland.  Paderewski,  famous  as  a  pianist,  is 
greater  as  a  Polish  patriot.  Then  there  is  Madame 
Sembrich,  of  whom  one  critic  has  said :  "She  has  as 
perfect  a  voice  as  has  ever  been  heard  on  earth  and 
used  in  connection  with  as  perfect  a  technique,"  and 
Madame  Modjeska,  whose  dramatic  art  was  charac- 
terized by  purity  of  aim  and  great  force.  In  the  field 
of  scholarship,  the  leading  figure  is  that  of  Nicolaus 
Koppernigh.  Perhaps  the  greatest  of  Polish  poets 
was  Adam  Mickiewicz,  who,  after  the  death  of  Push- 
kin, was  known  as  the  head  of  Slavic  literature.  He 
possessed  splendid  powers  and  turned  his  skill  to  de- 
scribing Polish  life,  homes,  feuds,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms. In  letters,  Henry  Sienkiewicz  leads  all  others  in 
the  place  that  he  made  for  himself  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen  in  all  three  sections  of  Poland. 

Where  are  the  Poles  in  the  United  States?  They 
have  come  chiefly  as  unskilled  workers  and  have  gone 
into  the  steel  mills,  the  shops,  and  the  mines,  where 
they  have  performed  h«avy,  dangerous  tasks  and  borne 
opprobrious  names  patiently.  They  are  employed  in 
factories,  slaughter  houses,  and  on  farms.  They  began 
to  migrate  after  the  Polish  insurrection  of  1863  and 
came  in  increasing  numbers  until  the  World  War 
broke  out  when  their  annual  immigration  amounted 
to  about  150,000  individuals. 

Polish  immigrants  have  attained  high  rank  in  art, 
particularly  in  music.  In  this  group,  perhaps  the  best 
known  is  Josef  Hofmann. 


i8o  'Americanization 

In  the  World  War,  over  200,ocx>  Poles  served  in 
the  American  Expeditionary  Forces.  Although  the 
Polish  immigrants  constituted  only  four  per  cent  of 
our  population,  they  suffered  nearly  ten  per  cent  of 
the  casualties  in  the  American  armies,  a  fact  which 
shows  that  they  succeeded  well  in  getting  into  the 
battle  lines.  But  thus  far,  the  United  States  has  been 
unappreciative  of  the  potentialities  of  Polish  immi- 
grants. 

The  Russian  immigrant  comes  from  Northern  Rus- 
sia, or  Great  Russia,  the  capital  of  which  has  been,  suc- 
cessively, Moscow  and  Petrograd.  The  great  Russian 
possesses  two  strong  but  anomalous  characteristics.  He 
is  noted  for  his  laborious  patience,  great  tenacity,  and 
enduring  strength.  Climatic  selection  has  developed 
in  him  a  strong  physique  and  the  correlative  mental 
traits  of  patience  and  tenacity  of  purpose.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Russian  manifests  a  fatalistic  attitude  which 
rests  upon  an  underlying  spiritual  faith  and  finds  sat- 
isfying solace  in  the  belief  that  "God  wills  it,"  when- 
ever the  defeats  of  life  overwhelm  the  individual. 

There  are  various  types  of  Russians  in  the  United 
States,  (i)  The  Russian  Jew  who  of  course  is  not 
Russian  except  as  he  has  come  from  Russia.  (2)  The 
Great  Russian  proper  has  not  migrated  in  large  num- 
bers. He  has  furnished  many  artists,  chiefly  in  music. 
Some  of  his  numbers  have  been  radicals  in  political 
and  industrial  matters.  (3)  A  third  group  is  com- 
posed of  the  representatives  of  various  religious  sects 
from  the  Caucasian  regions.  These  sects  had  been 
viciously  persecuted  in  Russia  under  the  Czars,  partly 
for  their  religious  independence  and  partly  because 
they  were  opposed  to  militarism.     After  the  Russo- 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  i8i 

Japanese  War  in  1904-1905,  the  sectarian  migration 
to  Canada  and  the  United  States  began.  The  leading 
sects  in  our  country  are  the  Molokans,  Dukhobors,  and 
Subotniks.    The  latter  are  Judaized  Russians. 

These  Russian  sectarians  have  been  greatly  dis- 
appointed in  the  United  States.  They  have  felt 
keenly  the  disintegrating  effects  of  American  life  upon 
the  family  as  a  social  institution.  Their  family  life  is 
patriarchal.  When  the  children  slip  out  from  parental 
control  and  develop  suddenly  into  pert  and  disobedient 
young  Americans,  the  reactions  of  the  parents  toward 
the  United  States  are  unfavorable. 

As  a  class  Russian  immigrants  have  many  difficulties 
in  understanding  American  life.  It  is  especially  dif- 
ficult for  the  Russian  to  adjust  himself  to  our  hurry- 
ing, restless  attitudes.  His  first  reaction  has  been  de- 
scribed as  follows: 

"Oh,  I  cannot  live  here,  I  am  always  late!  Every- 
body runs  ahead !  The  crowd  on  the  street  is  so  rest- 
less!    Why  are  they  hurrying  so?"^ 

And  his  ultimate  conclusion,  if  he  thinks  through 
the  problem  is  "that  all  the  work  of  humanity  should 
not  be  a  hurried  job,  undertaken  for  money,  but  a  free, 
joyous,  and  thoughtfuHy  slow  Creation." 

The  Ukrainians,  or  Little  Russians,  differ  materially 
from  the  Great  Russians.  They  are  the  Southerners 
of  the  Russian  peoples.  They  are  "children  of  a  more 
genial  climate,"  less  active  and  enterprising,  more  im- 
aginative and  less  co-operative  than  the  Great  Rus- 
sians. The  Little  Russians,  contrary  to  the  implica- 
tions of  their  name,  are  slightly  taller  than  the  Great 

'M.  Moravsky,  "The  Greenhorn  in  America,"  Atlantic  Mon.,  Vol. 
122  :663. 


1 82  AmericamzaHon 

Russians.  Among  their  ancestors  were  the  Cossacks 
—  the  famous  cavalry  of  the  Czar  —  who  were  the 
Kazaks,  or  riders,  or  robbers,  of  the  Middle  Ages,  with 
a  communistic  and  semi-military  life.  From  the  ninth 
to  the  fourteenth  centuries,  the  Ukrainians  maintained 
an  independent  kingdom.  Then  they  fell  under  the 
rule  of  the  Poles  and  Lithuanians,  and  of  the  Great 
Russians.  After  the  fall  of  the  Kerensky  regime  in 
November,  19 17,  Ukraine  became  established  as  a  re- 
public. 

The  Ukrainians  in  Hungary  were  nicknamed  Ruthe- 
nians,  because  of  their  ruddy  complexions.  It  is  from 
Hungary  that  nearly  30,000  Ukrainians,  or  Rutheni- 
ans,  were  coming  annually  in  the  years  preceding  1914- 
They  were  fleeing  from  oppression  to  the  land  of  lib- 
erty, where  like  many  other  Slavs  they  have  become 
industrial  servants  in  mines  and  mills,  without  enjoying 
the  larger  freedom  which  they  sought. 

In  the  United  States  the  largest  Ukrainian  colonies 
are  in  New  York  City,  Scranton,  Harrisburg,  and 
Pittsburg.  In  Pennsylvania  they  have  been  successful 
in  establishing  co-operative  stores.  They  are  fond  of 
their  athletic  societies,  of  music,  and  possess  a  melo- 
dious language. 

The  Czechs,  known  in  the  United  States  popularly 
as  Bohemians  and  Moravians,  constitute  the  intellectual 
vanguard  of  the  Slavic  race.  The  Bohemians  are  the 
leaders,  the  Moravians  the  middle  group,  while  the 
Slovaks  represent  a  low  state  of  economic  development. 

Bohemia,  a  diamond-shaped  province,  was  "the 
brightest  jewel  in  the  Austrian  crown,"  because  of  its 
capable  and  developed  people.     Surrounded  on  three 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  183 

sides  by  Germany,  Bohemia  has  been  subject  to  Ger- 
man infiltration  and  influence.  Toward  the  close  of 
the  nineteenth  century  a  remarkable  change  of  attitude 
occurred  in  Bohemia  toward  Germany.  Widespread 
currents  of  unfavorable  reaction  had  set  in  by  1900 
against  Germany.  For  example,  in  the  University  of 
Prague  the  use  of  the  German  language  had  given 
away  to  an  extensive  use  of  the  Czech  language. 

The  Bohemians  have  long  been  noted  for  their  ideals 
of  liberty.  They  objected  strongly  to  Austrian  autoc- 
racy. What  Washington  is  to  the  United  States, 
Luther  to  Germany,  Tolstoi  to  Russia,  and  Garibaldi 
to  Italy,  John  Hus  is  to  Bohemia.  Hus  sacrificed  his 
life  for  his  convictions  concerning  liberty,  long  before 
the  days  of  any  of  the  other  Reformation  leaders.  He 
was  the  pioneer  among  Reformation  heroes.  To  the 
Bohemians,  he  is  not  known  as  a  Protestant  reformer, 
but  as  a  heroic  exponent  of  civil  and  political  freedom. 
In  the  World  War  the  Czechs  had  four  armies  fighting 
against  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary.  At  the  close 
of  the  War  one  of  the  Czechoslovak  armies  was  fight- 
ing for  the  cause  of  the  Allies  in  far  away  Siberia. 

Bohemians  are  nominally  Catholics.  Upon  arrival 
in  the  United  States,  •they  become  the  least  faithful 
of  the  adherents  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  They  swing 
to  the  extreme,  as  an  expression  of  their  desire  for 
liberty;  they  form  free-thinking  societies  and  profess 
semi-atheistic  principles.  Socialism  is  strong  among 
them  here,  as  it  is  in  Bohemia,  where  several  years 
ago  the  movement  had  reached  proportions  which  en- 
abled it  to  support  two  antagonistic  parties,  the  na- 
tional and  international.  In  the  new  Czechoslovak  re- 
public, the  socialists  exercise  a  strong  influence. 


184  Americanization 

The  artistic  ability  of  the  Bohemian  is  noticeable. 
The  race  receives  too  little  attention  in  this  connection, 
for  it  has  produced  a  composer  of  first  rank,  Dvorak; 
a  soprano  of  the  purest  type,  Emmy  Destinn;  and  a 
violinist  of  world  fame,  Kubelik.  How  many  Dvoraks, 
Destinns,  and  Kubeliks  are  lost  to  the  United  States 
and  the  world  because  we  allow  the  Bohemian's  abil- 
ities to  go  unnoticed  cannot  be  estimated. 

The  largest  colony  of  Bohemians  in  our  country  is 
in  Chicago.  Many  Bohemians  have  gone  into  the 
skilled  trades.  Large  numbers  follow  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  the  Eastern  states,  the  Middle  West,  and  else- 
where, such  as  Texas.  Wherever  the  Bohemians  are 
located,  the  Sokol,  an  organization  for  athletic  and  fra- 
ternal purposes,  may  usually  be  found. 

The  Moravians  who  live  in  the  province  that  bor- 
ders Bohemia  on  the  east  are  closely  similar  to  the  Bo- 
hemians but  not  as  highly  developed.  Still  further 
to  the  east  in  former  Hungary  lies  Slovakland  where 
the  Slovaks  occupy  the  meager  hill  country.  The  nat- 
ural resources  have  been  scant  and  the  political  pres- 
sure by  the  Hungarians  has  been  rigorous.  It  was  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  that  the  Slovaks 
learned  of  the  possibilities  of  coming  to  the  United 
States.  A  low  economic  status  and  Hungarian  re- 
strictive measures  held  the  movement  in  check. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Thomas  Masaryk,  the  first 
president,  the  Czechoslovak  republic  made  a  splendid 
beginning.  The  Bohemians,  Moravians,  Slovaks,  and 
Silesians  united  under  a  free  constitution  and  a  liberal 
government.  Many  Czechoslovaks  in  the  United 
States  have  returned  to  the  home  country,  although 
those  who  have  lived  in  this  country  for  some  time 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  185 

are  remaining.  They  are  literate,  quick  to  learn,  and 
willing  to  become  citizens. 

The  Jugo-Slavs  include  the  Croatians,  Slovenians, 
Slavonians,  Dalmatians,  Bosnians,  Herzegovinians, 
Montenegrins,  and  Serbians.  The  different  names  in- 
dicate territorial  rather  than  racial  divisions.  They 
were  formerly  referred  to  as  Serbo-Croatians. 

Among  the  best  specimens  of  physical  manhood  that 
have  come  to  the  United  States  in  the  past  fifty  years 
are  many  of  the  Jugo-Slav  immigrants.  The  Dalma- 
tians, for  example,  are  often  six  feet  in  height,  well- 
built,  and  possessed  of  endurance. 

The  Jugo-Slavs  profess  various  religious  faiths,  in- 
cluding the  Roman  Catholic,  Greek  Catholic,  and  Mo- 
hammedan. The  religious  divisions  explain  in  part 
the  sub-group  feuds  which  exist  among  the  Jugo- 
Slavs  in  the  homeland  and  even  in  the  United  States. 
Superstition  abounds.  Wife-beating  is  not  uncommon. 
The  women  are  engaged  continually  for  the  best  part 
of  their  lives  in  bearing  or  nursing  children.  Rugged 
strength  and  crude  morality  are  the  outstanding  char- 
acteristics. 

In  the  United  States,  the  chief  settlements  of  the 
Croatians  are  in  and  about  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  and 
Chicago,  and  in  milling  and  similar  industrial  centers. 
They  are  also  found  on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  the  fruit 
and  fish  industries,  and  in  the  South  in  the  lumber 
mills.  The  leading  Slovenian  center  is  Cleveland. 
Many  Slovenians  are  employed  in  the  steel  and  coal  in- 
dustries of  Pennsylvania.  Others  are  in  the  copper 
and  iron  mines  of  Michigan  and  Minnesota.  The  Ser- 
vians in  the  United  States  have  come  from  Austria- 
Hungary  rather  than  from  Servia.     They  have  fur- 


i86  Americanization 

nished  many  skilled  workers  in  the  trades;  others  are 
mine  laborers.  As  a  rule,  the  Jugo-Slavs  are  different 
from.  Americans  in  many  respects.  They  are  im- 
mensely interested  in  the  struggles  of  the  republic  of 
Jugo-Slavia.  A  large  amount  of  sympathetic  Ameri- 
canization work  is  needed  in  order  to  develop  in  the 
Jugo-Slavs  a  proper  understanding  of  our  country  and 
its  ideals. 

The  Magyars,  Mongolian  in  origin,  live  on  an  island 
as  it  were,  surrounded  by  a  sea  of  Slavs.  They  num- 
ber about  10,000,000  and  are  described  as  "astute 
politicians  and  dashing  military  leaders/'  but  careless 
in  business  as  the  Slavs  who  surround  them.*  The 
Jews,  on  the  other  hand,  have  acquired  the  positions 
of  business  control.  At  the  time  that  the  Hungarian 
Magyars  were  imposing  their  political  leadership  and 
their  language  upon  the  subject  races,  they  in  turn  had 
been  slowly  adopting  the  social  customs  and  manners 
of  the  Slavs.  They  are  less  stolid  and  more  emotional 
than  the  Slavs.  Their  best  known  leader  and  exponent 
of  democracy  was  Louis  Kossuth. 

The  chief  settlement  of  the  Magyars  in  the  United 
States  is  in  New  York  City,  where  they  are  trades- 
people, mechanics,  and  laborers.  The  Magyars  are 
also  in  the  coal  mines  and  steel  mills.  They  are 
in  the  rural  districts  of  New  York,  Connecticut,  Ohio, 
and  other  states.  The  Magyar  immigrants  are  largely 
the  peasant  Magyars  who  have  fled  from  the  oppies- 
sion  of  the  ruling  Magyar  classes. 

The  Lithuanians,  belonging  to  the  Aryan  stock,  have 

*J.  R.  Commons,  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America,  p.  81;  cf.  Re- 
ports of  the  Immigration  Commission,  V  :94ff. 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  187 

lived  for  centuries  north  of  Russian  Poland  in  the  ter- 
ritory bordering  on  the  Baltic  Sea.  Courland  is  their 
chief  city.  Their  political  history  became  at  one  time 
a  part  of  the  history  of  Poland  through  intermarriage 
of  the  royal  houses.  Racially,  however,  the  Lithua- 
nians and  Poles  are  different.  The  Lithuanians  have 
suffered  from  Russian  tyranny.  In  1864,  they  were 
forbidden  to  publish  anything  except  in  Russian,  a  for- 
eign language  to  them,  with  the  result  that  they  were 
"reduced  to  silence."  By  virtue  of  living  in  a  region 
partly  covered  by  forests  and  swamps,  they  have  been 
able  to  maintain  their  ancestral  customs  and  racial 
traits. 

The  Lithuanians  have  migrated  to  the  United  States 
to  the  extent  of  750,000,  since  1885.  They  are  in  min- 
ing, particularly  in  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois.  Spring 
Valley,  Illinois,  contains  a  large  Lithuanian  settlement. 
There  are  many  Lithuanians  in  Chicago  and  New  York 
City. 

The  Letts  are  closely  related  to  the  Lithuanians. 
They  are  the  people  of  Lettonia,  which  borders  Lithua- 
nia on  the  north.  Perhaps  the  chief  difference  between 
the  Letts  and  the  Lithuanians  is  that  the  former  are 
dominated  by  Protestant  influences,  while  the  latter 
are  Roman  Catholics.  The  best  known  colony  of  Letts 
in  our  country  is  located  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The  Finns,  another  of  our  important  immigrant 
groups,  are  historically  Mongolian.  Centering  at  Hel- 
singfors,  they  have  served  as  a  buffer  between  Russia 
and  Sweden.  Wrested  from  Sweden  in  1809  by  Rus- 
sia, governed  by  Russia  in  a  somewhat  democratic 
manner  during  the  nineteenth  century,  the  Finns  in 


i88  ^Americanization 

1901  suddenly  found  themselves  stripped  of  all  self- 
government  privileges.  The  Russian  language  was 
substituted  for  the  Finnish  and  Swedish  languages. 
The  Finnish  army  was  disbanded  and  its  members 
scattered  throughout  the  Russian  army  divisions. 
With  this  imposition  of  autocratic  measures,  the  Finns 
began  to  migrate,  many  coming  to  the  United  States. 
In  191 7,  they  declared  their  independence  of  Russia. 
The  Finns  are  democratically  inclined.  Equal  suffrage 
was  established  many  decades  ago  in  Finnland.  So- 
cialism has  been  widely  adopted.  Finnland  passed  a 
"dry  law"  in  1905,  but  was  overruled  by  the  Czar,  the 
tool  of  the  liquor  interests. 

In  the  United  States  the  Finns  are  following  agri- 
cultural, lumber,  and  mining  pursuits.  Their  chief 
settlements  extend  from  Eastern  Michigan  to  the  Da- 
kotas. 

The  Rumanians  are  descendants  of  Roman  soldiers 
who  were  stationed  on  the  Danube.  They  are  more 
temperamental  than  the  Slav,  whose  customs  they  have 
acquired.  The  Rumanians  in  our  country  have  not 
come  primarily  from  Rumania,  but  from  Eastern  Hun- 
gary where  they  have  suffered  from  Magyar  oppres- 
sion. The  Rumanian  immigrants  are  chieflly  unmar- 
ried men.  They  are  unskilled  and  move  about  consid- 
erably, being  employed  in  steel  mills  and  other  manu- 
facturing plants.  Cleveland,  Dayton,  and  Pittsburg 
are  the  leading  Rumanian  centers. 

The  Bulgarians,  althougjh  of  Mongolian  stock,  like- 
wise have  become  Slavic  in  type  and  customs.  Several 
thousands  of  the  ancient  and  quaint  race  of  Albanians 
have  migrated  to  the  United  States  following  the  Bal- 
kan Wars  in  1911-1912.     The  Albanian  immigrants 


The  Slavic  Immigrant  189 

have  come  without  families  and  have  been  employed 
as  unskilled  laborers. 

The  Slav,  in  conclusion,  has  aptly  been  described 
as  humanity  in  the  rough.  This  generalization,  like 
others  concerning  the  Slav  immigrants,  does  not  apply 
to  the  Czechs,  and  the  advanced  members  of  the  other 
Slavic  branches.  The  Slavic  immigrant  comes  to  the 
United  States  from  one  of  the  youngest  races  polit- 
ically in  Europe.  He  has  scorned  business  activities 
as  being  undignified.  He  is  unaccustomed  to  and  un- 
convinced by  Western  ideas  and  appliances.  He  has 
struggled*  long,  blindly,  and  with  little  encouragement 
toward  the  light  of  political  freedom  and  industrial 
democracy. 

In  the  United  States,  we  know  the  Slav  in  the  mass 
and  far  from  his  best.  He  learns  of  America's  ways, 
oftentimes  and  first,  through  the  foreman's  curses  and 
the  populace's  epithets.  He  resents  being  called  a 
"Hunkie,"  and  we  unfortunately  do  not  understand 
that  the  use  of  such  a  term  hinders  the  Americaniza- 
tion process.  Between  Slavism  in  America  and  Amer- 
icanism at  its  best  is  a  broad,  deep  chasm  which  must 
be  bridged  by  Americanization  efforts. 

PROBLEMS 

1.  What  are  the  leading  Slavic  races? 

2.  Which  Slavic  race  has  sent  the  largest  numbers 

of  emigrants  to  the  United  States? 

3.  What  is  the  underlying  reason  why  Poland  lost 
her  position  of  political  prominence  in  the  eight- 
eenth century? 


IQO  Americanization 

4.  If  the  Poles  are  strong    exponents  of    liberty, 

how  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  in  the 
eighteenth  century  the  Polish  masses  were  be- 
ing oppressed  by  Polish  nobles? 

5.  Who  are  the  leading  Polish  musicians? 

6.  To  what  Pole  was  it  given  "to  alter  the  entire 

view  of  all  the  world  for  all  mankind'*  ? 

7.  Who  has  been  Poland's  best  modern  interpreter 

to  the  world  ? 

8.  Who  is  the  best  known  Polish  immigrant  to  the 

United  States? 

9.  What  is  the  leading  trait  of  the  Great  Russian  ? 

10.  Distinguish  between  Great  Russians  and  Little 

Russians. 

11.  Distinguish  between  Ukrainians  and  Ruthenians. 

12.  Distinguish  between  Czechs  and  Bohemians. 

13.  Who  is  the  leading  Bohemian  vioHnist?    Com- 

poser ?    Soprano  ?    Educator  ? 

14.  What  are  the  chief  Jugo-Slav  groups? 

15.  Who  are  the  Magyars? 

16.  Who  has  been  the  leading  Magyar  exponent  of 

freedom? 

17.  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  Finnland 

adopted  woman  suffrage  long  before  the  United 
States  did? 

18.  What  is  meant  by  pan-Slavism  ? 


Chapter  XIV 
THE  HEBREW  IMMIGRANT 

Of  the  12,000,00c  to  15,000,000  Hebrews  in  the 
world,  approximately  3,000,000  live  in  the  United 
States,  2,000,000  within  the  boundaries  of  former  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, and  5,000,000  within  the  former  Russian 
empire.  The  Hebrew  population  of  New  York  City 
may  be  conservatively  estimated  at  i  ,000,000,  the  larg- 
est congregation  of  Jews  in  one  place  in  the  world. 
New  York  City  has  a  Jewish  population  equal  to  that 
of  ten  Palestines.  When  one  person  of  every  five  in 
New  York  City's  population  of  five  million  is  a  Jew, 
and  the  race  is  prominently  represented  in  every  com- 
munity of  the  United  States,  it  becomes  necessary  for 
Americans  to  study  the  history  of  the  race,  the  reac- 
tions of  the  Jew  to  American  life,  and  his  potential 
genius. 

Heber,  or  Eber,  is  a  term  which  signifies  the  farther 
bank  of  a  river.  The  Hebrews  were  named  perhaps 
from  the  fact  that  theyj:ame  from  the  farther  bank  of 
the  Euphrates.  The  popular  designation,  Jew,  is  de- 
rived from  the  Hebrew  word  Jehudah,  or  Judah,  son 
of  Jacob.  The  name  has  had  a  definite  religious  sig- 
nificance. In  this  chapter  the  terms,  Hebrew  and  Jew, 
will  be  used  interchangeably.  The  Hebrew  language  is 
read  and  written  by  many  but  it  is  rarely  spoken. 
Yiddish  is  the  vehicle  of  conversation.  It  is  a  dialect 
which  is  sixteenth  century  German  in  its  elements, 
with  an  admixture  of  the  language  of  the  country  from 


192  Americanization 

which  the  given  group  of  Jewish  people  come.  Thus, 
among  "Russian  Jews,"  Yiddish  is  perhaps  60  per  cent 
German  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  40  per  cent  Polish 
or  Russian.  It  is  a  dialect  with  few  characteristics  of 
a  language. 

The  Hebrews  have  always  been  a  migrating  people. 
They  came  originally  from  Mesopotamia  and  settled 
for  a  time  in  Palestine.  Into  Egypt  they  moved,  and 
back  again  into  Palestine  under  the  leadership  of  their 
"exalted  father,''  Abram.  Three  world  religions  trace 
their  origins  to  Abraham,  father  of  a  multitude,  as 
Abram  came  to  be  known,  namely,  Judaism,  Christian- 
ity, and  Mohammedanism.  Thus,  the  name  of  Abra- 
ham is  known  and  honored  today  more  extensively 
even  than  that  of  Christ. 

Into  Egypt  a  second  time,  the  race  migrated.  This 
time,  Moses,  the  world's  first  great  labor  leader,  ap- 
peared to  champion  the  cause  of  his  people  who  had 
become  industrial  slaves  and  to  direct  them  back  to 
Palestine.  In  Palestine  their  adopted  home,  the  He- 
brews manifested  a  marked  intellectuality,  a  profound 
spirituality  which  culminated  in  Christianity,  and  an 
ethical  code  which  has  affected  and  molded  Western 
civilization.  Along  with  these  constructive  tendencies, 
there  arose  an  excessive  individualism  which  laid  the 
nation  open  to  internal  dissension,  foreign  invasion, 
and  conquest.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  did  not 
occur,  however,  until  Christianity  had  been  founded 
and  a  new  group  of  forces  set  in  motion  which  have 
won  the  allegiance  of  Europe  and  America. 

In  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Jews 
began  to  migrate  anew.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  we  find 
them    wandering    throughout    Europe,    and    congre- 


The  Hebrew  Immigrant  193 

gating  in  Frankfort  in  larger  numbers  than  elsewhere 
in  the  West. 

Never  having  been  agriculturalists,  but  possessing  a 
keenness  of  perception  born  of  migration,  the  Jews 
seized  the  opportunities  unintentionally  thrown  open 
to  them  by  the  Catholic  Church  when  it  forbade  the 
taking  of  usury,  or  interest  in  the  current  sense  of  the 
term,  to  members  of  the  church.  Outside  the  church, 
the  Jews  alone  had  the  ability  to  develop  the  business 
of  money-lending.  Further,  under  the  reign  of  feudal- 
ism' the  Jews  had  no  rights  except  such  as  they  might 
secure  by  bribing  the  feudal  lords  with  money.  Con- 
sequently and  willingly,  the  feudal  autocrats  used  the 
Jews  as  sponges  to  draw  large  sums  of  money  from 
the  already  over-taxed  masses. 

In  order  to  get  the  money  to  pay  the  necessary 
bribes,  the  Jews  themselves  engaged  in  sharp  practices 
and  extortions.  Driven  to  the  limits  of  financial  stress 
by  the  domineering  lords,  the  Jews  resorted  to  all 
types  of  financial  trickiness  in  their  dealings  with  the 
peasantry.  In  their  ignorance,  the  people  laid  the  blame 
for  their  oppressive  conditions  upon  the  Jews.  But 
today,  it  is  noteworthy,  when  modern  Jews  grow  up 
in  an  environment  of«^air  play,  they  are  no  more  apt 
to  acquire  questionable  financial  practices  than  the  av- 
erage American.  In  every  community  of  size  in  the 
United  States  there  are  usually  Jews  who  have  become 
trusted  community  members. 

With  the  awakening  of  the  people  in  Europe  during 
the  Renaissance,  and  with  the  overthrow  of  feudal 
kings,  the  Jews  lost  their  means  of  buying  self-pro- 
tection. They  were  without  rights.  They  were  depen- 
dent on  the  mercy  of  peoples  who  were  without  mercy. 


194  Americanization 

They  became  the  victims  of  the  prejudices  of  the 
masses.  Consequently,  the  people  expelled  the  Jewish 
race  from  various  lands,  beginning  in  England  in 
1290.  The  Jews  were  expelled  in  1390  from  France, 
and  in  1493  and  1495  from  Spain  and  Portugal. 

In  Teutonic  Europe,  however,  political  confusion 
obtained,  feudal  sovereigns  remained  in  control,  and 
the  Jews  continued  to  secure  protection.  Poland,  in 
her  anxiety  to  increase  her  population,  invited  the  ex- 
iled Jews  thither.  As  a  result,  the  Jews  congregated 
in  the  Germanic  and  Polish  regions.  When  Poland 
was  subdivided  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  it  contained  the  largest  Jewish  population  of 
the  world. 

Then  capitalism  rose.  With  the  development  of  bus- 
iness enterprise  and  the  coming  of  the  capitalistic  re- 
gime, colossal  opportunities  opened,  which  the  Jews 
with  their  centuries  of  financial  training  were  quick 
to  appreciate  and  to  seize.  By  capitalism-  the  Jew  was 
freed.  In  1791,  he  was  emancipated  in  France;  in 
1849  and  1858,  in  England;  in  i860  and  1870,  in 
Italy. 

In  Russian  Poland,  the  lot  of  the  Jew  has  been  es- 
pecially pitiful.  He  has  tried  to  eke  out  an  existence, 
while  being  crushed  between  the  fiendish  persecutions 
of  the  state  and  the  church  above  him,  and  the  infu- 
riated and  ignorant  Polish  or  Russian  peasants  be- 
neath. He  has  been  compelled  to  live  in  the  Pale  of 
Settlement  —  25  specific  provinces  out  of  89  in  Russia. 
Then  in  1882,  he  was  practically  driven  from  the  rural 
districts  and  villages  within  the  Pale,  and  obliged  to 
huddle  in  certain  sections  of  the  cities,  or  to  live  in 
cages  within  a  cage. 


The  Hebrew  Immigrant  195 

In.  the  name  of  Christianity  in  Russia,  the  Jews 
during  a  pogrom  have  suffered  reckless  destruction  of 
property  and  have  seen  their  children  and  aged  parents 
murdered  cruelly  before  their  helpless  eyes.  The  very 
name  of  Christian,  therefore,  causes  Russian  Jewish 
immigrants  to  shudder.  When  they  arrive  in  the 
United  States,  their  loyalty  to  Judaism  is  pronounced. 
They  consider  their  religion  the  oldest  of  all  widely 
accepted  religions  and  are  likely  to  feel  insulted  when 
attempts  are  made  to  convert  them  to  a  newer  religion 
and  especially  to  one  in  the  name  of  which  they  have 
been  pei-secuted  —  Christianity.  To  revile  Judaism., 
they  remind  us,  is  to  strike  disrespectfully  at  the  parent 
of  Christianity. 

Unfortunately,  the  effect  of  the  United  States  upon 
many  Jews  is  that  of  de-Judaizing  them  without  Chris- 
tianizing them.  "My  father  prays  every  day;  I  pray 
once  a  week ;  and  my  son  never  prays,"  is  the  statement 
of  a  Boston  Jew,  which  illustrates  the  effect  of  the 
United  States  upon  the  Jew's  attitude  toward  religion. 
"You  don't  need  to  worry,"  said  the  leader  of  a  group 
of  Jewish  lads  to  their  director  who  came  from  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  who  was 
afraid  that  the  boys  iTTight  think  that  he  would  try  to 
win  them  to  accept  Christianity,  "we  are  all  socialists." 
For  many  Jews,  the  conditions  in  the  United  States 
have  thrown  their  Jewish  faith  into  disrepute  without 
giving  them  an  adequate  religious  substitute.  As  a 
result  many  have  turned  to  intellectual  socialism. 

Another  important  characteristic  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grant is  his  intellectual  tendency.  This  Hebrew  trait 
has  had  a  long  history.  Its  origin  is  found  in  the  pa- 
triarchal days  of  the  Old  Testament  when  special  at- 


196  Americanization 

tention  to  the  education  of  the  children  in  the  home 
had  become  an  established  custom.  The  migrations  of 
the  Jew  from  country  to  country  have  sharpened  his 
wits  and  stimulated  his  intellect.  His  experiences  un- 
der autocratic  and  oppressive  rule  and  with  the  exi- 
gencies of  poverty  in  ghettoes  have  driven  him  to  a 
widespread  interest  in  and  acceptance  of  socialism. 
When  given  an  opportunity,  his  mental  development 
is  rapid.  He  studies  and  digests  the  "heavyweights" 
in  economics  and  sociology  rapaciously.  He  furnishes 
scholars  in  all  branches  of  learning. 

The  Jewish  immigrant  comes  from'  a  race  which  has 
the  concept  of  "social  progress  through  righteousness," 
a  concept  derived  from  the  Old  Testament.  Through 
the  Old  Testament,  rightly  called  a  Jewish  institution, 
the  Jew  has  the  honor  of  determining  the  fundamental 
nature  of  Western  European  civilization  and  hence  of 
American  life.  If  the  New  Testament  teachings,  which 
are  an  outgrowth  of  Old  Testament  principles,  be 
added  to  the  latter,  we  may  refer  to  the  Hebrews  as 
being  the  leading  single  force  in  determining  European 
and  American  progress.  At  any  rate,  we  may  consider 
the  Bible  as  "the  noblest  product  of  Hebraic  spirit." 
The  Jewish  immigrant  is  reachable  through  the  theoc- 
racy and  the  humanitarianism  of  the  Bible,  or  at  least 
of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  Jewish  immigrant  exhibits  a  remarkable  phys- 
ical vitality  and  endurance.  The  birth-rate  is  high,  and 
the  death-rate  is  surprisingly  low,  even  in  squalid  tene- 
ment districts.  His  length  of  life  is  much  greater  than 
that  of  the  average  American.  His  longevity  is  due, 
first,  to  the  operation  of  the  law  of  biological  survival. 


The  Hebrew  Immigrant  197 

Only  those  individuals  with  marked  endurance  have 
been  able  to  survive  the  dangers  of  death-dealing  envi- 
ronments ;  the  race  has  descended  from  those  who  have 
stood  the  endurance  test  imposed  by  rigorous  living 
conditions.  The  self-control  of  the  Hebrew,  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  explains  his  longevity.  Temperance  and  so- 
briety are  correlative  racial  traits.  His  sanitary  meat 
inspection  and  other  hygienic  customs,  in  the  third 
place,  are  fundamental  factors.  A  fourth  element  is 
found  in  his  sound  home  life.  The  interest  of  the  pa- 
rents in  the  care  and  training  of  the  children  gives  them 
a  favorable  start  in  life.  The  United  States  needs  to  go 
to  school  to  the  Jewish  immigrant  and  make  use  of  his 
methods  of  building  up  deep  family  affections,  loyalty, 
and  stability. 

The  Jewish  immigrant  shows  a  special  interest  in 
problems  of  social  amelioration.  Modern  criminology 
was  founded  by  Lombroso  and  scientific  socialism  by 
Marx.  In  the  United  States  the  Jews  have  developed 
the  best  charity  organizations.  The  Jew  comes  from 
a  race  that  has  long  been  noted  for  its  humanitarian 
activities  as  well  as  ideas.  Abraham  showed  a  highly 
socialized  spirit  in  hia  dealings  with  Lot.  Moses  led 
the  first  labor  strike  (of  slaves!)  in  the  world.  Amos, 
Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  other  Hebrew  prophets  cried  out 
ably  and  bravely  against  social  injustice.  Seven  out 
of  the  ten  commandments  are  rules  of  social  conduct. 
The  Founder  of  Christianity  made  the  love  of  man  a 
test  of  one's  love  of  God. 

The  orthodox  Jews  plan  to  re-establish  themselves 
in  Palestine  when  the  promised  Messiah  comes.  The 
national  Zionists  possess  political  aspirations  and  ex- 


198  Americanization  ' 

pect  to  re-establish  the  Jewish  nation  on  a  permanent 
basis.  The  sociaHst  Zionists  look  forward  to  the  crea- 
tion of  a  socialist  state  in  Palestine. 

The  Jew  in  the  United  States  has  gone  to  and  stayed 
in  the  cities.  He  has  gone  primarily  into  the  trades. 
For  centuries  the  Jew  practically  controlled  the  gar- 
ment industry  in  Russia ;  in  the  Ghetto  in  Rome  a  cen- 
tury ago  75  per  cent  of  the  Jews  were  tailors.  This 
racial  habit  has  led  the  Jew  into  the  garment  trade  in 
the  United  States  and  especially  in  New  York  City 
where  he  holds  a  practical  monopoly  of  the  manufac- 
ture of  men's  clothing.  From  the  trades  the  Jew  moves 
up  into  the  business  world,  and  particularly  into  the 
world  of  finance. 

The  Jewish  immigrant  is  often  literary.  He  makes 
a  good  journalist.  Many  of  the  best  books  upon  im- 
migration have  been  written  by  Jewish  immigrants,  no- 
tably the  books  by  E.  A.  Steiner,  Mary  Antin,  M.  E. 
Ravage.  As  a  labor  leader  the  Jew  is  strong  because 
of  his  intellectual  acumen.  In  this  field  he  is  often 
radical,  because  of  his  keen  sense  of  injustice.  In  jur- 
isprudence in  the  United  States  a  nationally  honored 
name  is  that  of  Louis  Brandeis. 

The  Jew  in  the  United  States  is  what  "centuries  of 
persecution  and  oppression"  have  made  him.  He  com- 
monly begins  his  experiences  as  an  immigrant  in  a 
ghetto,  and  then  struggles  out  into  success  and  recog- 
nition. Though  frequently  defeated,  he  keeps  on  si- 
lently. He  rarely  turns  back.  Though  generally  suf- 
fering, he  keeps  on  steadfastly.  Though  vanquished 
from  time  to  time,  he  gathers  up  his  scattered  forces 
and  pushes  on.     Though  defeated  again  and  again  he 


The  Hebrew  Immigrant  199 

has  had  the  unique  distinction  of  seeing  his  conquerors, 
proud  kingdoms  and  mighty  empires,  crumble  into 
humble  dust.  He  ever  rises  with  eternal  suffering  and 
untiring  patience  to  confront  his  contemporaries  with 
his  hitherto  insoluble  problems.^ 

In  undertaking  Americanization  work  among  the 
Jews,  many  Americans  understand  nothing  of  the  Jew- 
ish immigrant's  history.  They  are  totally  unacquainted 
with  his  problems,  viewpoints,  and  attitudes.  They 
do  not  perceive  him  as  an  individual  struggling  for 
political  liberty,  economic  opportunity,  and  intellectual 
freedom,  but  who  in  the  meantime  is  losing  his  religion 
which  has  kept  him  active,  persecuted,  and  racially  pro- 
tected. This  loss  may  mean  his  racial  disintegration. 
Americanization  as  related  to  the  Jew  is  a  co-operative 
process  in  which  American  and  Jew  must  work  to- 
gether on  the  basis  of  thorough  understanding  and 
good  will. 


PROBLEMS 

1.  Distinguish  between  the  terms,  Hebrew  and  Jew. 

2.  What  special  difficulty  is  experienced  by  a  person 

who   speaks   Yiddish   when   he  undertakes   to 
learn  English? 

3.  Why  is  there  such  a  large  Jewish  population  in 

Poland? 

4.  What  causes  a  pogrom  ? 

^Adapted  from  a  quotation  from  L.  E.  Van  Norman,  Poland,  pp. 
263,  264. 


20O  Americanization 

5.  Why  is  New  York  City  the  largest  center  of 

Jewish  population  in  the  world  ? 

6.  Why  are  the  Jews  not  agriculturalists? 

7.  Why  are  the  Jews  not  coal  miners? 

8.  Why  is  the  Jewish  immigrant  sometimes  called  a 

shoestring  capitalist? 

9.  What  is  your  attitude  toward  a  college  fraternity 

which  debars  Jewish  students   from  member- 
ship? 

10.  Why  does  the  Jew  tend  to  lose  his  religion  in 

the  United  States? 

11.  Why  is  it  that  the  Jews  do  not  carry  out  mis- 

sionary enterprises? 

12.  Who  are  the  best  known  Jewish  Americans? 

13.  What  is  Zionism? 

14.  In  what  constructive  ways  do  the  Jews  contribute 

to  Americansm? 


Chapter  XV 
THE  ASIATIC  IMMIGRANT 

The  representatives  of  five  Asiatic  races  have  mi- 
grated to  the  United  States.  From  Western  Asia,  the 
Syrians  and  Armenians  have  come;  from  Southern 
Asia,  the  Hindus;  and  from  Eastern  Asia,  the  Chinese 
and  the  Japanese. 

The  Syrian  immigrant  is  a  relative  of  the  Hebrew. 
He  also  is  descended  from  the  Semitic  branch  of  the 
Caucasian  peoples.  He  migrates  chiefly  from-  the  Mt. 
Lebanon  region.     His  mother  tongue  is  Arabic. 

Syrian  migration  to  the  United  States  was  caused 
in  part  by  the  missionaries  in  Syria,  many  of  whom 
have  been  Presbyterian.  This  migration  was  also  stim- 
ulated by  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876  when  olive 
wood  and  other  carved  articles  were  introduced  to  the 
curio-fascinated  American  public. 

Upon  arrival  in  this  country,  the  Syrian  immigrant 
has  usually  become  a«^eddler,  and  later,  has  set  up  a 
small  store.  Although  the  largest  number  of  Syrians 
in  the  United  States  are  in  New  York  City,  others  are 
found  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country.  They  have 
followed  trade  and  commerce  extensively.  They  are 
individualistic.  They  belong  to  the  Christian  faith. 
Their  thirst  for  knowledge  has  been  noted  by  many 
observers.  They  possess  the  so-called  Oriental  mem- 
ory. Their  intelligence  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
recently  a  few  hundred  thousand  Syrians  in  the  United 


202  Americanization 

States  were  supporting  several  Arabic  newspapers  and 
magazines. 

The  Armenian  immigrant  traces  his  ancestry  to  a 
primitive  branch  of  the  Aryan  stock.  For  his  form  of 
Christianity,  he  claims  a  greater  age  than  that  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  He  has  suffered  indescribable  per- 
secutions because  of  his  loyalty  to  Christian  beliefs. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  Syrian  and  the  Hebrew,  the  hor- 
rors of  persecution  have  cut  deep  into  his  nature,  and 
hence,  he  is  suspicious  of  strangers  until  their  trust- 
worthiness has  been  established. 

The  Armenian  at  home  has  not  had  a  government 
of  his  own  for  500  years.  He  has  been  called  the 
Anglo-Saxon  of  Eastern  Turkey.  He  deserves  con- 
siderable credit  for  maintaining  his  civilization  under 
Turkish  oppression.  Despite  massacres,  his  spirit  has 
held  strong. 

The  first  Armenian  immigrant  to  the  United  States 
was  "Martin,  the  Armenian,"  who  was  a  member  of 
the  Jamestown  colony  in  Virginia  as  early  as  1619. 
But  the  real  Armenian  immigration  began  after  the 
massacres  in  Armenia  in  1894.  The  encouragement 
from  American  missionaries  was  the  chief  force  which 
directed  Armenian  migration  to  the  United  States. . 

Armenian  immigrants  are  nearly  all  refugees  from 
vicious  and  bitter  persecution.  A  large  percentage  are 
skilled  workers,  e.  g.,  shoe  makers,  tailors,  carpenters. 
Many  are  day  laborers.  Others  are  tradesmen.  There 
are  many  Armenians  in  the  Oriental  rug  business,  in 
which  they  have  been  severely  criticized  for  unfair 
business  practices  and  unreliability.  This  criticism  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that  to  the  Armenian  the  selling 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  203 

price  depends  not  so  much  on  what  an  article  origin- 
ally cost  the  merchant,  but  more  upon  its  evident  value 
to  and  the  purchasing  ability  of  the  customer. 

The  largest  Armenian  colonies  in  this  country  are 
in  New  York  City,  Fresno  (California),  Boston,  Phil- 
adelphia, and  Chicago.  Armenian  immigrants  usually 
belong  to  the  Apostolic  or  Presbyterian  denomina- 
tions. Many  show  religious  indifference.  The  men 
greatly  outnumber  the  women.  They  sometimes  ne- 
gotiate through  the  relatives  or  parents  of  girls  in 
Armenia  for  these  girls  as  brides.  The  Armenian  im- 
migrant possesses  physical  endurance,  mental  stead- 
fastness, and  a  live  imagination. 

The  East  Indian,  or  Hindu,  began  to  migrate  to  the 
United  States  about  1900.  Many  Hindus  migrated 
first  to  British  Columbia  and  then  came  down  the  Pa- 
cific Coast.  By  1906,  the  annual  figures  exceeded  1000. 
The  small  numbers  were  more  than  offset  by  the 
strange  appearance,  the  peculiar  customs,  and  the  very 
low  standard  of  living.  The  Hindus  were  so  different 
from  us,  and  the  laborers  who  came  were  on  such  a 
manifestly  lower  plane  of  living  that  assimilation 
seemed  impossible. 

An  unusually  strict  interpretation  of  our  immigra- 
tion laws  was  made.  By  virtue  of  the  low  industrial 
status  of  the  Hindus  and  of  the  obvious  difficulties 
which  they  experienced  in  obtaining  steady  employ- 
ment, it  appeared  that  many  would  soon  need  to  re- 
ceive public  aid,  especially  if  the  immigration  should 
become  extensive.  It  was  decided  that  the  Hindu  im- 
migrants come  within  the  scope  of  the  clause,  liable 
to  become  a  public  charge,  and  nearly  all  were  debarred. 
Consequently,  Hindu  immigration  practically  ceased. 


204  Americanization 

When  the  Hindu  has  applied  for  citizenship,  the 
courts  have  disagreed  over  the  question  of  racial  ori- 
gin. Many  East  Indians  are  of  Caucasian  lineage,  and 
admissible;  others  are  of  Mongolian  descent,  and  ap- 
parently ineligible  to  citizenship.  The  question  of 
eligibility  to  citizenship  needs  to  be  clarified  and  put 
upon  the  plane  of  individual  merit  and  worth,  rather 
than  left  upon  the  uncertain  and  accidental  grounds 
of  racial  origin  in  prehistoric  days. 

In  the  immigration  act  of  February  5,  19 17,  a 
"barred  zone"  provision  was  included.  According  to 
this  regulation,  natives  excepting  the  members  of  ex- 
empt classes  from  the  barred  zone  shall  not  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  United  States.  The  barred  zone  includes 
India.  The  exempt  classes  are  government  officials, 
travelers,  and  certain  professional  classes,  so  that  the 
prohibitory  regulations  apply  chiefly  to  the  unskilled 
and  skilled  classes.  The  merits  and  de-merits  of  the 
barred  zone  law  will  be  discussed  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  Chinese  first  migrated  to  the  United  States 
about  1849,  attracted  by  the  prospects  of  work  in  the 
gold  fields.  Many  thousands  were  imported  by  Amer- 
ican mine-owners  and  other  employers.  They  were 
employed  in  large  numbers  in  railroad  construction, 
e.  g.,  in  building  the  western  end  of  the  first  transcon- 
tinental railroad,  which  was  completed  in  1869.  The 
high  tide  was  in  1882,  when  39,000  Chinese  came.  At 
that  time,  about  130,000  Chinese  were  in  the  United 
States. 

By  1882,  however,  a  strong  aversion  to  the  Chinese 
had  developed.  They  were  charged  with  working  for 
such  low  wages  that  Americans  with  their  higher 
standard  of  living  could  not  compete  with  them.     Or- 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  205 

ganized  labor  opposed  them,  because  their  presence  in 
industry  hindered  the  rise  of  or  even  lowered  prevail- 
ing standards  of  living.  They  came  v^ithout  families 
and  hence  tended  to  degenerate.  Immorality  and  gam- 
bling flourished.  They  returned  to  their  own  country 
after  accumulating  small  sums  of  money;  hence,  they 
had  no  special  interest  in  the  United  States  except  to 
earn  money.  They  were  exceedingly  slow  in  being 
assimilated,  maintaining  their  language,  religion,  and 
other  Chniese  customs  with  tenacity.  Their  intermar- 
riage with  Americans  was  not  feasible.  There  was 
danger  that  vast  hordes  would  come. 

Gradually,  the  anti-Chinese  activities  increased.  The 
importation  of  Chinese  coolie  labor  was  forbidden  in 
1879  by  Congress,  but  President  Hayes  vetoed  the 
measure  because  it  was  in  violation  of  the  Burlingame 
Treaty  of  1868.  According  to  the  terms  of  this  treaty, 
the  right  of  immigration  was  declared  to  be  an  in- 
herent one,  and  free  migration  of  Chinese  to  the  United 
States  was  provided. 

The  anti-Chinese  sentiment  grew  strong  on  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  and  all  forms  of  lyino;-  were  resorted  to  in 
order  to  stir  up  people  again^^t  Chinese  immigrants. 
A  commission  was  sent  to  China  in  1880,  which  nego- 
tiated a  new  treaty  providing  for  the  limitation  of 
Chinese  migration  to  the  United  States.  In  1882,  the 
importation  of  Chinese  labor,  skilled  and  unskilled,  was 
prohibited  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  In  1892,  this 
act  was  continued  for  ten  years  longer;  in  1902  it  was 
extended  indefinitely.  Further,  in  1882,  the  Chinese 
on  the  basis  of  race  alone  were  declared  ineligible  for 
citizenship. 


2o6  Americanization 

According  to  the  census  of  1910,  there  were  71,000 
Chinese  in  the  United  States  as  compared  with  89,000 
in  1900.  The  decrease  is  marked.  In  railroad  main- 
tenance work,  the  Chinese  have  been  displaced  by  the 
Japanese,  Mexicans.  Italians.  In  agriculture,  they 
have  given  away  before  the  more  aggressively  active 
Japanese.  There  are  still  many  Chinese  located  in 
towns  and  cities,  who  are  conducting  small  stores  and 
laundries. 

Is  the  Chinese  problem  in  the  United  States  settled  ? 
The  superficial  and  careless  person  answers,  yes.  He 
is  probably  correct  as  long  as  China  remains  weak  as 
a  nation.  But  recent  events  have  cast  a  shadow  upon 
our  Americansm.  The  same  class  of  people  who  de- 
manded the  exclusion  of  Chinese  labor  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  a  few  years  ago,  were  in  191 8  and  in  1920 
when  under  stress  of  a  shortage  of  labor,  asking  that 
Chinese  laborers  be  admitted  for  stipulated  periods  of 
time,  or  so  long  as  they  have  economic  value  to  us.  A 
disdainful  attitude  for  the  Chinese  when  they  are  not 
needed  industrially  and  a  cordial  invitation  when  they 
are  an  economic  asset  puts  the  nation  in  a  wrong  light 
from  the  standpoint  of  China,  and  lends  color  to  the 
charge  that  the  United  States  is  commercialized. 

Further,  when  China  becomes  a  powerful  nation 
among  the  peoples  of  the  globe,  she  will  no  longer 
acquiesce  in  being  singled  out  as  a  nation  whose  citi- 
zens, because  they  bear  the  name  of  Chinese,  are  de- 
barred. No  matter  how  worthy  a  Chinese  laborer 
may  be  —  skilled,  Christian,  gentlemanly  —  he  is  ex- 
cluded from  entry  and  from  citizenship.  But  another 
laborer  with  fewer  qualifications,  for  example,  from 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  207 

Mohammedan  Turkey,  would  be  admitted.  We  cannot 
afford  to  allow  our  Americanism  to  fall  below  our  pro- 
fessions of  just  and  friendly  treatment  to  all  reputable 
nations  and  races.  Least  of  all,  should  China,  a  sister 
republic,  be  singled  out  in  this  way  —  during  a  time 
when  she  is  trying  to  educate  her  people  to  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  superiority  of  democracies  over  autocracies. 

We  cannot  afford,  it  is  true,  to  be  overrun  with 
Chinese  immigrants,  and  especially  of  the  unskilled 
laboring  group.  We  can  admit  only  that  number 
from  any  race  which  can  be  assimilated  within  a  rea- 
sonable time.  Let  the  test  for  admission  be  high  and 
on  the  basis  of  individual  fitness  to  become  American 
citizens,  and  then  treat  the  representatives  of  all  people 
alike  and  democratically.  The  standards  for  admission 
may  be  placed  high  enough  so  that  we  could  not  be 
flooded  by  undesirable  immigrants.  But  the  exclusion 
of  the  Chinese  from  the  United  States  on  the  adven- 
titious fact  of  race,  deliberately  naming  them,  in  view 
of  present  ethnological  opinion,  is  hardly  fair,  or  truly 
American. 

The  Japanese  represent  a  mixed  race  that  is  scarcely 
more  than  fifty  yearso'emoved  from  feudalism-.  The 
four  main  islands  of  Japan  are  mountainous  and  vol- 
canic. Of  the  total  area  only  25  per  cent  is  open  to 
cultivation.  This  cultivable  territory,  one-fourth  the 
size  of  California,  is  feeding  a  population  of  more  than 
50,000,000  people.  Several  crops  must  be  raised  annu- 
ally upon  the  same  land;  and  woman  labor,  a  seven- 
day  labor  week,  and  intensive  agriculture  must  pre- 
vail in  order  to  meet  the  enormous  demands  for  food. 

Japan  possesses  few  natural  resources.    Her  supply 


2o8  Americankation 

of  iron,  coal,  and  oil  is  almost  nil.  "J^P^n  is  a  land 
without  a  surplus  of  anything  except  raw  silk  and 
brains."  In  addition  to  pottery  making,  cotton  spin- 
ning has  been  devoloped,  but  even  the  raw  materials 
for  cotton  spinning  must  be  imported.  Agriculture 
has  been  an  exalted  occupation  while  commerce  and 
trading  have  been  treated  with  contempt  —  especially 
by  the  Samurai,  the  fgrmer  military  leaders  of  Japan. 
Commerce,  bargaining,  business,  prevarication,  and 
lying  were  considered  as  synonymous  terms.^To  trades- 
men it  was  honorable  to  lie  in  business  since  business 
was  a  low  grade  of  activity.  The  merchants  who  lied 
most  cleverly  succeeded  best.  It  is  thus  easy  to  un- 
derstand how  Japanese  immigrants  in  America  in  their 
business  agreements  have  not  always  been  trustworthy. 
But  agriculture  was  free  from  "the  sordid  phases  of 
commerce."  Under  the  former  policy  of  exclusion, 
Japan  was  compelled  to  become  self-sufficient.  She 
faced  famine  unless  the  fields  were  cultivated  assidu- 
ously; agriculture  thus  became  a  highly  respected  oc- 
cupation. 

Upon  arrival  on  our  Pacific  Coast,  with  the  prev- 
alence of  its  extensive  farming  and  with  its  valuable 
lands  not  intensively  utilized,  the  Japanese  immigrant 
immediately  makes  use  of  the  opportunities  which  he 
finds.  He  naturally  employs  his  home  customs,  name- 
ly, intensive  farming,  woman  labor,  long  hours,  a 
seven-day  labor  week.  Because  of  these  methods  and 
of  having  a  living  standard  that  is  lower  than  ours,  the 
Japanese  are  able  to  drive  out  all  competitors.  More- 
over, they  naturally  enough  write  to  their  relatives 
and  friends  of  the  agricultural  opportunities  in  the 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  209 

United  States.  The  desire  to  come  hither  becomes 
strong  on  the  part  of  Japanese  farmers. 

The  modern  Japanese  immigration  began  about 
1896.  The  annual  figures  reached  100  in  1886,  1000 
in  1 89 1,  and  10,000  in  1910,  at  which  time  there  were 
about  72,000  Japanese  in  the  country.  Of  this  num- 
ber, 42,000  were  in  CaHfornia.  The  immigration  in 
recent  years  has  averaged  about  10,000,  but  from*  this 
the  annual  emigration  figures  of  about  7,000  need  to 
be  subtracted  in  order  that  a  correct  idea  may  be 
secured  of  the  increase  in  Japanese  immigration.  Spe- 
cifically, according  to  the  report  of  the  commissioner 
general  of  immigration  in  1919,  14,900  Japanese  im- 
migrated and  11,200  emigrated  leaving  a  net  gain  of 
3,700.  A  large  percentage  of  the  Japanese  in  the 
United  States  are  engaged  in  farming,  truck-garden- 
ing, domestic  service,  small  businesses,  canning  fruits, 
and  railroad  maintenance.  They  are  noted  for  their 
frugality  and  industry.. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Federal  Immigration 
Commission,  the  Japanese  have  shown  considerable  ca- 
pacity for  adopting  American  customs.  They  make 
earnest  efforts  to  leaqj  English,  and  they  rank  well  as 
students.  They  are  kindly  and  polite.  They  have 
made  definite  efforts  looking  toward  Americanization. 

The  influx  of  picture  brides  has  received  unscientific 
attention.  These  brides  are  a  part  of  a  custom  which 
is  normal  in  Japan  and  in  many  other  countries.  But 
public  opinion  in  the  United  States  reached  such  a  heat 
against  the  custom  that  the  Japanese  Government  in 
1920  agreed  to  stop  the  immigration  of  picture  brides 
to  our  country.     This    change    means,  among    other 


210  '    Americanisa Ho n 

things,  that  the  desire  of  the  Japanese  in  the  United 
States  to  live  under  the  normal  conditions  of  family 
life  will  become  increasingly  difficult. 

The  birth-rate  of  Japanese  children  in  the  United 
States  has  been  increasing.  In  certain  small  localities 
in  California  the  Japanese  birth-rate  exceeds  the  Cau- 
casian. A  better  distribution  and  assimilation  program 
is  greatly  needed.  Japanese  children,  however,  assim- 
ilate readily.  As  a  rule  they  are  better  disciplined  and 
show  more  parental  respect  than  American  children. 
Under  favorable  conditions  they  become  loyal  to  the 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

The  dislike  for  the  Japanese  assumed  concrete  form 
in  1906  when  the  San  Francisco  school  board  attempted 
to  segregate  the  Japanese  school  children.  Shortly 
afterward,  the  prejudice  against  the  Japanese  showed 
itself  in  the  boycott  of  the  Japanese  restaurants  in  San 
Francisco.  Recognizing  the  opposition  to  the  Japanese 
on  the  part  of  California,  the  Federal  Government 
made  an  arrangement  with  Japan  known  as  the  gen- 
tleman's agreement.  According  to  this  plan,  Japan 
agreed  to  issue  passports  only  to  such  residents  in  this 
country,  the  United  States,  as  were  returning  here,  or 
were  parents,  wives,  or  children  of  residents  of  this 
country,  or  had  already  secured  a  right  to  agricultural 
land.  Travelers,  officials,  merchants,  teachers,  and  stu- 
dents are  also  permitted  to  enter.  Then  there  are  the 
wives  and  picture  brides  who  have  been  admitted. 
These  women  are  laborers  and  potential  mothers.  The 
gentleman's  agreement  has  been  faithfully  kept  by  the 
Japanese  Government,  which  wishes  the  Japanese  to 
migrate,  not  to  the  United  States,  but  westward  to  the 
mainland  of  Asia.     Governmental  influence  in  Japan 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  211 

has  been  thrown  against  immigration  to  the  United 
States. 

In  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  California  in  1913, 
more  than  thirty  bills  were  introduced,  which  were 
directed  against  the  Japanese.  The  chief  of  these  bills 
was  the  one  which  rigidly  restricted  the  holding  of 
lands,  through  either  purchase  or  lease  by  aliens  ineli- 
gible to  citizenship.  Without  mentioning  the  Japanese 
by  name,  the  bill  affected  them  chiefly.  Presiden  Wil- 
son through  a  personal  visit  of  his  Secretary  of  State, 
Mr.  Bryan,  to  California  asked  the  legislature  to  de- 
lay action  until  the  Federal  Government  would  have 
time  to  adjust  the  difficulties  by  negotiating  with 
Japan. 

But  Governor  Johnson  replied  and  the  legislature 
agreed  that  "an  emergency  exists  which  we  would  be 
blind  if  we  did  not  see.'*  Accordingly  the  bill  was 
re-shaped  and  passed.  The  question  may  be  raised, 
Did  an  emergency  exist?  A  study  of  the  conditions 
in  California  at  the  time  legislative  action  was  taken 
fails  to  show  the  existence  of  an  emergency  so  dan- 
gerous that  it  had  to  be  met  before  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment could  arran^  a  solution  with  Japan  upon  the 
basis  of  international  justice  and  the  welfare  of  Cali- 
fornia and  the  nation. 

Japan  protested  against  the  anti-Japanese  land  law 
because  the  discrimination  against  the  Japanese  vio- 
lated the  spirit  of  the  gentleman's  agreement  of  1907. 
Our  government  replied  that  in  this  matter  it  had  no 
jurisdiction.  One  of  the  states  of  the  Union  had  passed 
a  law  offending  another  nation  and  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment was  helpless.    "The  most  important  piece  of 


212  Americanization 

legislation  waiting  to  be  done  in  this  country,"  says 
James  A.  B.  Scherer,  "is  the  enactment  of  a  law  or 
laws,  by  constitutional  enactment  if  necessary,  that  will 
put  international  affairs  in  the  hands  of  the  nation." 

There  have  been  many  charges  that  the  Japanese 
have  violated  the  alien  land  law.  There  are  estab- 
lished instances  of  violation,  of  false  certification  of 
names,  of  buying  land  in  the  name  of  children,  but 
these  cases  do  not  seem  to  be  as  numerous  as  the  in- 
fractions of  laws  against  forming  trusts  or  profiteering 
by  Americans.  The  clause  forbidding  the  Japanese  to 
lease  land  for  more  than  three  years  at  a  time  has  had 
unfortunate  effects  in  some  particulars.  It  has  com- 
pelled the  Japanese  to  raise  only  crops  which  will  grow 
quickly  and  mature  ripidly,  such  as  vegetables  and 
small  fruits.  This  kind  of  produce  perishes  soon  after 
being  gathered  for  the  market.  Hence,  a  noticeable 
effect  of  the  alien  land  law  has  been  to  cause  the  Jap- 
anese to  colonize  around  cities  where  a  ready  market 
always  exists.  Another  unfavorable  effect  of  the 
three-year-lease  clause  is  that  the  Japanese  farmer  is 
encouraged  during  the  third  year  of  the  contract  to 
get  as  much  from-  the  soil  as  possible  without  keeping 
up  the  quality  of  the  soil. 

The  alien  land  law  has  other  objectionable  features, 
but  its  chief  weakness  is  that  it  is  based  on  an  undem- 
ocratic naturalization  law.  It  does  not  apply  to  all 
aliens  alike.  It  is  racially  discriminatory.  It  creates 
special  problems  of  its  own. 

The  Japanese  situation  in  the  United  States  also 
involves  a  change  in  our  naturalization  laws.  We  base 
citizenship  qualifications  partially  upon  the  unscientific 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  213 

element  of  color.  Moreover,  we  apply  the  color  test 
unscientifically,  for  in  theory  we  admit  the  color  ex- 
tremes, white  and  black,  to  citizenship,  and  exclude  the 
intermediate  elements.  We  now  know  that  every  race 
is  a  combination  of  several  races  and  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  state  where  one  race  ends  and  another  begins. 
The  same  principle  is  true  when  applied  to  color.  A 
better  test  for  admission  to  citizenship  is  that  of  indi- 
vidual ability,  achievement,  worth,  attitudes,  poten- 
tiality. Modern  psychological  studies  and  test^  have 
made  it. possible  to  define  our  standards  in  personal 
terms  and  at  the  same  time  to  safeguard  our  nation 
and  individual  states  against  the  admission  of  unde- 
sirable immigrants.  It  thus  becomes  possible  to  repeal 
racially  discriminatory  admission  laws,  land  ownership 
laws,  and  naturalization  laws. 

California  is  right  in  her  desire  not  to  be  overrun 
by  Asiatic  hordes.  She  must  preserve  herself,  but  her 
solution  of  the  problem  is  myopic.  It  ignores  Japan's 
willingness  to  accede  to  the  fundamental  needs  of  Cali- 
fornia. It  overlooks  the  request  of  the  United  States 
for  an  open  door  in  Asia  and  equality  of  treatment 
similar  to  that  accorUed  to  citizens  of  "the  most  fa- 
vored nation." 

Our  test  for  admitting  immigrants  should  no  longer 
be  determined  by  our  caprices,  prejudices,  or  sympa- 
thies, but  by  considerations  of  the  personal  qualifica- 
tions of  the  immigrant,  our  national  welfare,  and  in- 
ternational justice.  The  test  resolves  itself  to  one  of 
constructive  assimilative  ability.  The  members  of  a 
race  that  are  widely  different  from  us  will  assimilate 
slowly.    This  rate  of  assimilation  will  serve  as  a  fairly 


214  Americanization 

scientific  test  of  admission.  For  example,  it  has  been 
proposed  by  S.  L.  Gulick  that  we  admit  immigrants 
from  any  nation  annually  not  to  exceed  5  or  lo  per 
cent  of  those  here  and  assimilated  from  the  given  na- 
tion. Such  a  standard  would  eliminate  race  discrim- 
ination. At  the  same  time,  it  would  admit  each  year 
only  a  small  proportion  of  the  Japanese  who  are  now 
admitted  by  our  present  objectionable  laws. 

This  test  would  lessen  Japanese  immigration  and 
still  be  fair  to  Japan.  It  would  protect  California  and 
other  interested  states.  The  interests  of  California 
would  be  better  conserved  than  at  present,  and  our 
Federal  Governmnt  would  be  put  in  a  position  of  acting 
justly  and  democratically  toward  a  neighboring  nation. 
It  is  possible  for  Americanism  to  acquire  such  a  flavor 
that  it  will  incur  the  increasing  suspicion  of  the  nations 
of  the  Far  East,  or  to  stress  elements  which  will  foster 
the  good  will  and  co-operation  of  Japan  and  China. 
May  the  latter  tendency  prevail. 

The  Japanese  problems  in  California  arise  chiefly 
out  of  economic  factors.  The  prejudice  in  California 
against  the  Japanese  springs  not  from  a  thorough- 
going study  but  largely  from  the  fact  that  the  Japanese 
are  successful  competitors  economically.  The  chief 
objection  to  the  picture  brides  was  not  that  they  did 
not  make  good  wives,  but  that  they  went  into  the  fields 
and  worked.  The  prejudice  against  the  Japanese  far- 
mer is  not  that  he  is  a  poor  farmer,  but  that  he  is  the 
opposite  and  that  he  combines  with  his  fellows,  thus 
driving  out  the  American  farmer  and  cornering  the 
markets.  But  this  latter  unfortunate  practice  is  not 
peculiar  to  the  Japanese  alone.     It  was  recently  re- 


The  Asiatic  Immigrant  215 

ported  that  a  Japanese  potato  raiser  was  keeping 
3,000,000  pounds  of  potatoes  in  warehouses,  and  thus 
causing  the  rise  in  price  of  potatoes.  The  same  report 
also  stated  that  an  American  speculator  had  bought 
and  was  holding  in  storage  5,000,000  pounds  of  po- 
tatoes. The  economic  sins  of  the  Japanese  are  not  far 
different  from  those  of  other  immigrants  and  of 
Americans. 

The  solution  of  the  perplexing  question  of  Japanese 
immigration  is  not  in  absolute  prohibition.  No  con- 
tacts at  all  between  the  United  States  and  Japan  will 
lead  to  a  final  struggle  for  dominance.  There  is  need 
for  the  admission  of  a  small  number  of  Japanese  immi- 
grants, annually,  and  tested  by  high  standards  of  indi- 
vidual qualifications.  After  they  are  admitted,  the 
process  of  assimilation  and  naturalization  should  be 
furthered.  Only  through  a  procedure  of  fair  play, 
scientific  insight,  and  good  will  can  the  question  of 
Japanese  immigration  be  settled  constructively. 


PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  are  East  Indian  immigrants  so  difficult  to 

assimilate? 

2.  What  are  Chinese  Tongs? 

3.  Is  the  question  of  Chinese  immigration  settled? 

4.  When  did  Japanese  immigration  begin?    Why? 

5.  Distinguish  between  the  attitude  of  Japan  toward 

Japanese  immigration  and  the  attitude  of  indi- 
vidual Japanese. 

6.  Why  did  Japan  make  the  "gentleman's  agree- 


2 1 6  A  mericanizatioi  i 

7.  What  problems  has  the  California  Alien  Land 

Law  raised? 

8.  Explain:    The  Japanese  are  the  most  patriotic 

people  in  the  world. 

9.  Why  are  the  Japanese  called  the  Yankees  of  the 

East? 

10.  What  is  the  leading  trait  of  the  Japanese  farmer? 

11.  Does  the  Japanese  immigrant  assimilate  readily? 

12.  What  is  the  most  serious  factor  in  the  Japanese 

situation  on  the  Pacific  Coast? 

13.  Why  is  the  meeting  ground  of  the  Eastern  and 

Western  civilizations,  namely,  the  Pacific  Coast, 
of  world  significance? 

14.  Are    the    contradictions    between    Eastern    and 

Western  civilizations  so  far-reaching  as  to  pre- 
clude unification  ? 


Chapter  XVI 
THE   MEXICAN   IMMIGRANT 

In  the  Southwestern  states,  the  Mexican  problem 
has  developed  with  rapidity  since  1900.  Because  the 
Mexican  immigrants  represent  the  peon  classes  or  the 
mixed  and  least  developed  classes  of  Mexico,  because 
they  come  from  scenes  of  current  oppression  and  revo- 
lution, because  of  the  delicate  international  relations 
of  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  because  of  the  un- 
toward living  conditions  of  the  Mexican  immigrants 
in  the  United  States,  and  because  of  the  chasm-  of 
misunderstanding  which  exists  between  Americans  and 
Mexicans,  no  Americanization  program  is  complete 
which  does  not  include  the  Mexican  immigrant  prob- 
lem. 

Of  Mexico's  population  of  10,000,000  or  more,  about 
19  per  cent  are  white  (Spanish),  43  per  cent  are  mixed 
bloods  (Spanish  and  Indian  with  Negro  admixture), 
and  38  per  cent  are  native  Indians.  The  process  of 
amalgamation  —  mixture  of  races  —  is  gradually  tak- 
ing place.  Unlike  the  situation  in  the  United  States, 
the  Indians  are  not  dying  out  as  an  isolated  race,  but 
are  contributing  their  qualities  to  a  new  Mexican  race 
of  Spanish  and  Indian  origins.  But  a  mixed  race,  liv- 
ing at  the  same  time  in  the  same  locality  as  the  purer 
races  always  confronts  a  hard  struggle.  Recognition 
is  reluctantly  given  to  such  a  race ;  taunts  and  cries  of 
shame  are  heaped  upon  it.  ^Mexican  immigration  to 
the  United  States  is  composed  largely  of  mixed  bloods.^ 


2i8  Americamzation 

Socially,  there  are  in  Mexico  but  two  classes:  the 
rich,  who  are  few  in  numbers,  comprising  less  than  lo 
per  cent  of  the  population;  and  the  poor,  representing 
more  than  90  per  cent.  The  rich  are  very  wealthy, 
possessing  large  landed  estates;  the  poor  are  living  in 
conditions  of  squalor  and  ignorance.  They  live  in 
adobe,  or  clay  houses,  with  thatched  roofs,  dirt  floors, 
-  and  frequently  in  single  rooms.  Tt  is  this  class  which 
«/  is  being  brought  into  the  United  States  as  immigrant 
labor,-  Centuries  of  opression  have  broken  the  spirit 
and  nearly  destroyed  the  self-respect  of  the  peon  class. 

Thus  far,  Americanization  in  its  relations  to  the 
mass  of  Mexican  immigrants  has  been  largely  nega- 
tive. To  the  Mexican  immigrant,  Americanism  has 
meant  scarcely  more  than  a  blind  and  a  more  or  less 
helpless  struggle  for  existence.  It  has  meant  unfavor- 
able housing  conditions  and  non-stimulating  labor  con- 
ditions. It  has  meant  contacts  with  snobbishness.  And 
it  has  oftentimes  been  a  causal  factor  in  arousing  in 
the  Mexican  a  spirit  of  retaliation  or  of  anarchism. 

The  reasons  for  these  unfavorable  reactions  are  man- 
ifold. The  Mexican  immigrants,  as  a  class,  remain 
illiterate  and  subject  to  narrow  visions.  They  have 
little  opportunity  to  learn  English  or  to  know  the  best 
phases  of  Americanism.  They  have  been  imported  by 
employers,  many  of  whom  are  interested  only  in  the 
work  which  the  Mexicans  can  do.  The  leading  Ameri- 
can agencies  which  have  sought  Mexican  laborers  are 
the  railroad  companies  whose  representatives  have 
brought  thousands  of  peons  across  the  border,  and  the 
ranchers  who  have  employed  the  Mexicans  in  the  beet 
sugar  and  other  industries  of  the  Southwestern  states. 

The   Mexicans   come   with   the   idea   of   returning 


The  Mexican  Immigrant  219 

shortly;  hence,  the  problems  arising  from  a  transient 
labor  supply  are  common.  They  work  as  section  hands 
and  as  unskilled  laborers  in  railroad  shops.  Large 
numbers  go  into  the  farming  districts  as  seasonal  la- 
borers. Between  seasons  they  return  across  the  border, 
or  drift  about  the  country,  or  hang  around  improvised 
plazas  in  idleness.  The  chief  centers  of  Mexican  im- 
migrant population  are  in  Southern  Texas,  New  Mex- 
ico, Arizona,  and  Southern  California.  The  two  main 
groups  are  in  El  Paso  and  Los  Anoeles. 

In  our  towns  and  cities,  the  Mexicans  live  in  shacks 
and  house-courts.^  The  living  conditions  of  the  Mex- 
ican in  Los  Angeles  where  approximately  30,ocx>  are 
congregated  reflects  the  general  Mexican  immigrant 
situation.  Of  the  30,000  Mexicans  in  Los  Angeles, 
about  60  per  cent  live  in  two-room  habitations  and 
nearly  25  per  cent  in  one-room  habitations.  The  aver- 
age rent  paid  for  a  two-room  shack  is  from  six  to  four- 
teen dollars  per  month.  The  habitations  are  built  of 
wood  or  adobe  and  front  upon  an  inner  yard  which 
often  is  not  well  drained  and  which  for  a  time  after  a 
rain  contains  pools  of  stagnant  water.  In  the  inner 
yard  are  the  wash-tub^  and  usually  the  toilets. 

About  60  per  cent  of  the  population  are  men.  Can- 
dles are  still  in  common,  use.  Saloons  and  access  to 
liquors  have  demoralized  the  Mexican  more  than  any 
other  factor.  The  Los  Angeles  statistics  show  that  the 
offenses  of  Mexicans  against  the  law  have  decreased 
greatly  since  the  saloon  was  abolished  and  prohibition 
was  put  into  effect. 

^The  reader  is  referred  to  the  present  writer's  article  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  XXII:391-99. 


220  Americanization 

About  90  per  cent  of  the  Mexican  immigrants  are 
Catholics.  The  young-  men  and  women  marry  early 
—  at  least  one-half  of  the  girls  marry  while  in  their 
teens.  Shiftlessness  is  common.  Illiteracy  exceeds  50 
per  cent.  The  American  environment  affords  the  Mex- 
ican inadequate  stimulation.  He  is  brought  into  our 
country  as  an  unskilled  laborer,  works  irregularly  and 
seasonably,  lives  in  unhealthy  and  un-American  ways, 
and  after  drifting  about,  may  settle  in  the  United 
States  permanently.  When  the  average  American  sees 
him,  the  worst  effects  of  his  centuries  of  oppression 
are  evident  and  his  best  qualities  are  hidden. 

He  is  somewhat  individualistic,  following  leaders 
rather  than  organizations.  He  is  noted  for  politeness. 
He  stresses  form.  He  loves  art  and  music.  He  is 
patient,  submissive,  and  when  his  confidence  is  secured, 
is  very  loyal. 

What  is  the  United  States  doing  to  develop  in  the 
Mexican  immigrant  a  love  for  our  country?  The 
question  is  equally  vital,  whether  he  stays  with  us,  or 
returns  to  Mexico.  Many  public  school  teachers  and 
settlement  and  religious  workers  are  helping  to  educate 
the  Mexican  immigrant  and  to  give  him  the  American 
point  of  view.  On  the  whole,  however,  little  is  being 
done  in  an  organized  or  public  way  to  increase  the  love 
of  the  Mexican  immigrant  for  the  United  States.  To 
allow  him  to  live  in  the  barn  with  the  horse  and  cow 
is  not  enough.  To  permit  him  to  live  In  un-American 
conditions,  without  doing  anything  in  a  large-scale  way 
for  his  welfare  will  not  make  a  good  American  citizen 
of  him  if  he  stays ;  and  will  not  increase  his  respect  for 
the  United  States  if  he  returns  to  Mexico.  It  is  not 
enough  to  pay  him  wages  and  then  allow  him  to  shift 


The  Mexican  Immigrant  221 

for  himself,  possibly  becoming  the  victim  of  revolu- 
tionary and  radical  propaganda. 

When  approached  by  Americans  who  are  interested 
in  him,  not  for  the  labor  he  can  perform,  but  for  the 
possibilities  of  development  which  he  possesses,  he  re- 
veals a  longing  and  an  ambition  to  strive  for  the  higher 
values  of  life.  Neighborhood  school  teachers,  settle- 
ment and  religious  workers  who  have  come  to  under- 
stand the  Mexicans,  speak  as  a  unit  in  praise  of  them 
and  of  their  fine  potentialities.  A  small  Mexican  girl 
said  to  a  housing  inspector  in  Los  Angeles:  "When 
people  pass  by  in  their  autos,  we  feel  ashamed  for  them 
to  see  us  living  in  these  old  shacks.  Can't  you  make 
the  boss  fix  them?"  This  girl  who  was  attending  the 
public  schools  had  become  acquainted  with  girls  who 
had  better  homes  than  her  own,  and  she  was  sad 
because  she  could  not  have  the  pleasure  of  inviting  her 
schoolmates  to  her  home. 

Shall  the  children  of  Mexican  immigrants  —  chil- 
dren who  will  grow  up  to  be  American  citizens  —  be 
reared  in  shacks,  without  adequate  home  care,  without 
play  facilities,  without  protection  from  habitations 
which  are  infected  with  tubercle  bacilli,  without 
proper  nutrition,  witlwut  being  safeguarded  from  the 
vices  lurking  in  dark  alleys  and  streets? 

We  need  to  have  a  better  understanding  of  Mexican 
immigrants.  We  need  to  develop  ties  of  respect,  not 
chasms  of  distrust  and  fear  between  ourselves  and  the 
Mexicans.  We  need  to  develop  an  efficient  educational 
program  and  furnish  a  sufficient  number  of  home 
teachers  to  give  the  illiterate  members  of  the  race  an 
appreciation  of  the  best  American  ideals.  We  need  to 
develop  in  the  Mexican  immigrants  a  true  sense  of 


222  Americanization 

economic  values.  We  need  to  offer  a  democratic  in- 
dustrial program  which  will  produce  a  mutual  under- 
standing between  the  American  employer  and  the  Mex- 
ican employee.  We  need  to  encourage  the  Mexican 
to  live  a  more  practical  and  socialized  religious  life. 

An  Americanization  program  for  Mexican  immi- 
grants includes  a  wholesale  extension  of  the  attitude 
of  helpfulness  toward  and  understanding  of  them,  the 
establishment  of  wholesome  living  conditions  for  them, 
and  a  wide  adoption  of  the  home  teacher  method  of 
taking  constructive  American  ideas  and  standards  into 
their  habitations  and  changing  these  into  places  fit  for 
the  rearing  of  American  children. 


PROBLEMS 


What  is  the  origin  of  the  term,  peon? 

Why  do  many  Americans  think  of  Mexicans  as 
being  barbarians  ? 

What  is  the  social  significance  of  the  Mexican 
plaza  ? 

Is  the  Mexican  immigrant  inherently  shiftless? 

Why  do  Mexican  immigrants  become  naturalized 
slowly  ? 

What  is  the  best  quality  of  the  Mexican  immi- 
grant ? 

What  are  the  opportunities  of  the  adult  Mexican 
immigrant  to  know  American  ideals? 

What  forces  are  at  work  in  the  process  of  assim- 
ilating Mexican  immigrants? 


PART  FOUR 

METHODS   OF   AMERICANIZATION 

Chapter  XVII 

INDUSTRIAL  PHASES 

Economic  causes  have  operated  strongly  as  factors 
in  migration  since  earliest  times.  Primitive  man  lived 
a  migratory  life,  chiefly  because  of  the  necessity  of 
searching  for  food.  With  the  development  of  tribal 
organizations,  w^hole  tribes  migrated  in  search  of  better 
lands.  Nations  have  fought  territorial  wars  and  sent 
out  colonies  to  develop  the  conquered  territories.  The 
modern  immigration  movement  has  been  motivated 
largely  by  the  desire  for  a  better  living.  Although  the 
longing  for  political  independence  or  for  religious 
freedom  has  been  dominant  at  times  among  immi- 
grants, the  economic  desires  have  been  primary 
throughout  nearly  all  migration  history.  The  immi- 
grant has  been  vi^illing^to  risk  the  dangers  of  moving 
because  of  the  chance  to  make  a  better  livelihood. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  immigration  to  the  United 
States  in  the  last  fifty  years  has  been  induced  by  the 
economic  prosperity  of  our  country.  After  every  in- 
dustrial crisis,  immigration  has  definitely  decreased. 
With  returning  prosperity,  immigration  has  rapidly 
increased,  usually  exceeding  previous  records. 

The  economic  opportunities  and  the  atmosphere  of 
freedom   in  the  United   States  have  been  the  chief 


224  Americanization 

causes  of  immigration.  But  the  economic  and  living 
opportunities  in  this  country  long  ago  possessed  no 
great  advantages  for  the  common  man  over  the  oppor- 
tunities in  Northern  and  Western  Europe,  and  immi- 
gration from  those  quarters  declined.  Although  the 
life  in  the  dark  and  gigantic  tenements  of  Nev^  York 
City  has  turned  the  occupants  into  a  race  of  modern 
cave  people,  the  appeal  of  America  is  still  sti;ong 
enough  to  drav^  millions  of  people  from  the  illiterate 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Southern  Italy,  Jewish  Poland, 
and  Russia,  Slavic  Europe,  India,  China,  the  Malay 
Archipelago,  and  similar  sections  of  the  earth  contain 
hundreds  of  millions  of  people  v^ho  vi^ould  migrate  to 
the  United  States  if  the  way  were  open.  It  is  wise 
that  the  United  States  maintain  her  standards  of  living, 
and  hence  that  she  definitely  restrict  immigration  until 
her  constructive  Americanization  forces  are  properly 
functioning.  Americanization  can  not  go  forward  sat- 
isfactorily, however,  unless  all  who  promote  it  keep 
continually  in  mind  the  causes  of  immigration  to  the 
United  States  and  the  hopes  and  aspirations  which 
are  stirring  in  the  mind  of  the  immigrant  upon  his 
arrival. 

In  order  to  secure  admission  to  our  country,  the  im- 
migrant must  pay  a  head  tax.  This  sum,  originally 
fifty  cents,  has  been  revised  upward  several  times.  In 
191 7,  it  was  increased  to  eight  dollars.  The  income 
from  this  tax  is  used  to  pay  the  expenses  of  maintain- 
ing the  immigration  stations,  staffs,  and  in  general, 
paying  the  costs  of  admitting  immigrants.  The  returns 
from  the  head  tax  have  been  sufficient  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  and  to  turn  a 


Industrial  Phases  .  225 

neat  surplus  of  several  million  dollars  into  the  general 
funds  of  the  Treasury  Department. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  would  seem  that  more  at- 
tention could  be  given  to  the  immigrant  at  the  time 
of  his  entry  into  the  country  and  during  the  adjust- 
ment period.  Since  he  pay^  more  than  the  expenses 
of  his  own  entry,  he  is  entitled  to  as  human  a  reception 
as  possible.  His  first  disappointment  has  often  come 
from  the  way  in  which  he  has  been  jostled  along,  yelled 
at,  and  caged  up  —  unexpectedly  —  at  the  port  of  en- 
try. At  this  time  he  often  receives  his  first  lesson  in 
distrusting  America,  and  in  doubting  whether  or  not 
he  wants  to  become  an  American  citizen.  A  public 
opinion  is  needed  which  will  see  to  it  that  if  an  im- 
migrant is  to  be  admitted,  he  will  be  made  enthusiastic 
upon  his  arrival  to  become  a  citizen,  and  a  loyal  citizen 
contributing  his  best  to  our  nation. 

An  immigrant  who  would  enter  our  country  must 
have  no  promise  of  work  or  else  he  must  perjure  him- 
self by  saying  that  he  has  no  such  promise,  even  if  he 
has  come  at  the  behest  of  a  relative  who  has  guaran- 
teed him  a  job.  According  to  the  contract  labor  law, 
no  alien  can  be  admitted  who  has  made  an  agreement, 
"oral,  written  or  prinTbd,  expressed  or  implied,  to  per- 
form labor  in  this  country  of  any  kind,  skilled  or  un- 
skilled." If  the  alien  has  a  promise  of  work  through 
a  letter  from  a  brother,  he  cannot  be  admitted,  or  else 
he  must  swear  that  he  has  no  such  guarantee. 

The  immigrant  who  would  enter  the  country  has 
three  ways  of  procedure  open  to  him.  (i)  He  may 
come  without  any  idea  where  he  can  obtain  work. 
This  plan  would  be  foolhardy,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
very  few  Immigrants  are  so  foolish.      (2)    He  may 


226  .  Ainericanisafion 

come  with  an  understanding  that  he  can  have  work. 
He  may  so  state  the  matter,  but  if  he  does,  he  is 
debarred  from  entering  the  country.  (3)  He  may 
come  with  a  promise  of  work,  and  He  to  the  immigra- 
tion official  to  the  effect  that  he  has  no  work  in  sight, 
and  be  admitted. 

This  situation  is  unfortunate.  The  immigrant  at 
the  very  introduction  to  American  Hfe  is  indirectly 
taught  to  disregard  our  laws.  This  objectionable  pro- 
cedure arises  from  the  fact  that  before  we  had  a  con- 
tract labor  law,  the  representatives  of  our  large  em- 
ploying concerns  went  to  Europe  and  made  tacit  agree- 
ments with  groups  of  immigrants  to  come  to  the  United 
States  and  to  work  for  higher  wages  than,  they  could 
get  at  home,  but  for  lower  wages  than  would  ordinarily 
be  paid  in  this  country  for  the  same  type  of  labor.  This 
exploitation  led  to  the  passage  of  the  contract  labor 
law. 

The  Canadian  plan  has  superior  advantages.  Canada 
has  long  had  the  policy  of  admitting  those  unskilled 
and  skilled  immigrants  who  have  assurance  of  work. 
Thus,  perjury  is  unnecessary,  and  no  period  of  unem- 
ployment is  likely  to  occur.  The  immigrant  must  know 
what  he  is  going  to  do  and  where  he  is  going  to  work 
in  order  to  secure  admittance.  In  the  United  States, 
a  national  minimum  wage  law  would  go  far  toward 
protecting  the  alien  against  innocently  agreeing  t5 
work  for  less  than  living  wages. 

In  the  repo'tts  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  an 
important  incident  is  described,  which  shows  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Canadian  law  and  ours  in  regard 
to  the  promise  of  work  requirement  for  admission.    An 


Industrial  Phases  227 

immigrant  applied  for  entry  to  the  United  States  at 
our  station  in  Quebec.  He  had  been  told  in  a  letter 
from  a  brother  in  one  of  the  Western  states  that  the 
brother  could  probably  get  him  work  if  he  would  come. 
On  the  strength  of  this  assurance,  he  came,  and  so  in- 
formed the  immigration  official,  who,  doing  his  duty, 
enforced  the  contract  labor  clause  and  debarred  the 
man  from  entry.  The  man  then  went  to  the  Canadian 
immigration  station  in  Quebec  and  applied  for  admis- 
sion to  Canada.  When  asked  if  he  had  had  any  prom- 
ise of  work  in  Canada,  he  promptly  replied  in  the  neg- 
ative. 'The  Canadian  officer,  enforcing  the  Canadian 
rule  that  anyone  without  assurance  of  work,  cannot  be 
admitted,  refused  the  man  entry  to  Canada.  In  one 
instance,  the  alien  was  refused  admission  because  he 
had  work  "in  sight" ;  in  the  other,  because  he  did  not. 
Both  methods  are  beset  by  evils,  to  be  sure,  but  the  Ca- 
nadian is  undoubtedly  superior. 

As  soon  as  the  immigrant  is  admitted  and  leaves  the 
immigration  station,  he  is  subjected  to  a  great  variety 
of  exploitation  schemes.  Every  step  of  the  way  to 
sound  Americanism  is  beset  by  sharp  economic  prac- 
tices. He  is  defrauded  in  "making-  change."  He  is 
bedazzled  by  glass  diaThonds.  He  is  deceived  by  loan 
sharks.  He  is  inveigled  into  buying  worthless  oil 
stocks  or  valueless  lands.  Under  the  direction  of  the 
padrone,  he  is  cheated  out  of  a  part  of  his  wages.  At 
immigrant  banks,  his  earnings  have  sometimes  disap- 
peared. Even  the  representatives  of  immigrant  so- 
cieties have  overcharged  and  exploited  the  unsophisti- 
cated alien.  In  the  name  of  the  American  god  of 
wealth,  helpless  immigrant  girls  and  women  have  been 
led  astray,  demoralized,  and  debauched. 


228  Americanization 

The  list  of  methods  by  which  new  immigrants  are 
swindled  in  the  United  States  has  no  end.  Every  day 
brings  the  revelation  of  new  devices.  The  latest  scheme 
that  I  have  noticed  is  the  announcement  to  make  an 
individual  into  a  ''movie  star"  in  five  lessons  —  for  five 
dollars. 

Native  Americans,  and  immigrants  who  have  been 
for  some  time  in  the  country  participate  in  these  nefa- 
rious practices.  The  newcomer  to  a  land  of  democracy 
is  entitled  to  just  treatment  from  everyone.  The  fact 
that  he  is  exploited  by  a  fellow  immigrant  who  has 
lived  in  America  for  a  few.  years  does  not  offset  his 
chagrin  and  does  not  increase  his  respect  for  America. 
But  when  the  exploitation  is  conducted  by  native  Amer- 
icans, the  immigrant  is  filled  with  disgust.  Exploita- 
tion of  the  immigrant,  whether  by  a  fellow  immigrant 
or  by  an  American,  if  it  occurs  in  the  United  States, 
is  disastrous  to  the  Americanization  process. 

The  immigrant  of  the  last  forty  years  has  shunned 
agricultural  pursuits  and  gone  into  industry.  The  im- 
migrants who  came  before  1885  went  to  the  farms  in 
large  numbers.  They  helped  to  develop  the  land,  to 
increase  the  food  supply  and  to  maintain  habits  of 
thrift.  They  advanced  from  laborers  to  farmers. 
They  became  good  citizens. 

But  the  immigrants  of  recent  years  have  gone  to  the 
large  cities  and  the  factory  and  mining  communities. 
They  have  come  from  rural  districts  and  entered  urban 
life.  They  have  left  outdoor  work  in  Europe  and  en- 
tered "the  dangerous,  the  dirty,  and  the  odorous 
trades"  in  the  United  States. 

There  is  great  need  for  immigration  to  rural  United 
States.    Farm  laborers  are  scarce.    Household  help  is 


/,  Industrial  Phases  229 

also  in  great  demand.  But  th^  immigrant,  like  the 
native,  cannot  resist  the  attractions  of  the  city.  The 
Japanese  is  perhaps  the  only  race  which  is  sending  a 
majority  of  its  immigrants  to  the  farms  and  into  the 
work  of  raising  produce.  There  should  be  mentioned, 
also,  other  rural  groupings  of  some  of  the  recent  im- 
migrants, such  as  the  Bohemian  colonies  of  Texas,  the 
Italian  colonies  in  New  Jersey,  Texas,  Louisiana,  and 
New  York,  the  Jewish  colonies  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  the  Portuguese  colonies  in  California. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  get  the  immi- 
grants in  our  cities  to  move  into  rural  districts.  Whole 
groups  have  been  colonized,  but  to  little  avail.  Some 
have  been  exploited.  Some  have  failed.  The  most 
noteworthy  experiments  in  this  connection  have  been 
conducted  in  behalf  of  Jewish  immigrants  by  the  Jew- 
ish Agricultural  and  Industrial  Aid  Society  of  New 
York  and  by  the  representatives  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Fund.  But  the  immigrants,  having  once  lived  in  the 
city,  have  continued  to  feel  the  irresistible  city  pull 
when  moved  into  the  country.  In  this  respect  they  have 
proved  their  kinship  with  native  Americans. 

Practically  three-fourths  of  all  mining  in  the  United 
States  is  done  by  the  Tbreign-born.  But  only  a  small 
percentage  of  these  people  worked  in  mines  before  com- 
ing to  our  country.  Now  they  labor  hundreds  and 
even  thousands  of  feet  beneath  the  earth's  surface  in 
dark,  deep  caverns  where  countless  dangers  lurk  and 
the  cheering  rays  of  sunshine  cannot  enter. 

In  manufacturing,  the  immigrant  has  made  himself 
indispensable.  In  the  iron  and  steel  mills,  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  workers  are  foreign-born.  There  are 
thousands  who  work  the  twelve  hour  day  and  do  the 


230  Americanization  '"' 

long  turn  of  twenty-four  hours  every  two  weeks.  The 
gigantic  iron  and  steel  industries  in  Pittsburg,  Bethle- 
hem, Lackawanna,  Birmingham,  Pueblo,  South  Chi- 
cago and  Gary  could  scarcely  exist  without  the  immi- 
grant. The  slaughtering  and  meat-packing  industries 
of  Chicago  and  similar  centers  have  been  built  up  out 
of  immigrant  labor.  Sugar-refining  is  done  almost 
entirely  by  immigrants.  The  woolen  mills,  cotton 
mills,  furniture  factories,  leather  goods  factories  would 
be  obliged  to  close  if  it  were  not  for  immigrant  labor. 
The  manufacture  of  clothing  has  long  been  known  as 
an  essentially  immigrant  industry.  It  was  originally  de- 
veloped by  the  German  and  Irish  immigrants,  but  it 
is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews  who  find  strong  com- 
petition in  the  Italians,  especially  in  New  York  City. 

The  agricultural  and  industrial  situation  in  the 
United  States  needs  to  be  adequately  surveyed  at  inter- 
vals with  reference  to  labor  needs.  Upon  the  basis  of 
the  results  of  these  surveys,  it  would  be  possible  to 
invite  immigrants  to  do  certain  lines  of  work  and  to 
discourage  them  from  entering  upon  other  types  of 
industrial  activity.  For  a  long  time  Canada  has  fol- 
lowed the  plan  of  announcing  through  bulletins  and 
agents  the  kinds  of  work  for  which  immigrants  are 
in  demand.  She  has  also  announced  from  time  to  time 
the  occupations  in  which  there  is  at  the  time  a  surplus 
of  labor.  By  enforcing  this  policy,  Canada  has  been 
able  to  meet  her  labor  needs  intelligently,  to  direct 
immigrants  to  the  rural  and  away  from  the  urban 
communities,  and  at  the  same  time  to  safeguard  the 
immigrants  against  many  unnecessary  disappointments. 
A  similar  plan,  modified  to  meet  our  needs,  would 
greatly  further  Americanization. 


Industrial  Phases  2^  i 

The  main  problem  before  the  mind  of  the  incoming 
immigrant  is  that  of  getting  work.  As  has  been  stated, 
he  usually  comes  only  after  having  received  some  kind 
of  assurance  in  this  regard.  He  goes  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble to  the  relatives  or  the  person  who  encouraged  him 
to  come  to  the  United  States. 

Several  difficulties  arise.  The  circumstances  upon 
which  the  original  promise  of  work'  was  made  may 
have  changed,  for  the  immigrant's  arrival  ordinarily 
takes  place  several  weeks,  if  not  months,  after  the 
promise  was  made.  Frequently,  the  immigrant  arrives 
during  a  strike,  or  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  given 
industry.  Sometimes,  if  he  is  coming  to  a  point  hun- 
dreds of  miles  or  even  a  thousand  miles  inland  from 
New  York  City,  his  funds,  for  an  unexpected  reason, 
become  exhausted,  and  it  is  necessary  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency the  best  way  that  he  can.  Again,  the  new  im- 
migrant sometimes  experiences  difficulty  in  locating 
the  address  to  which  he  is  goinsr,  or  he  fails  to  make 
train  connections  and  misses  the  friends  who  are  look- 
ing for  him  at  the  railroad  station.  In  other  words, 
the  incoming  immigrant  must  often  find  temporary 
work  in  the  best  way  that  he  can  in  a  strange  land 
without  assistance.       * 

The  majority  of  immigrants  reach  relatives  safely  and 
find  work  to  do,  but  it  is  often  unfamiliar  work.  The 
immigrants  from  the  peasant  districts  of  Europe  locate 
in  our  large  metropolitan  cities  or  in  the  industrial  cen- 
ters. To  change  from  a  leisurelv  agricultural  existence 
to  a  rapid  and  artificial  urban  life  is  difficult.  Large 
wages  melt  away  before  an  unexpected  high  cost  of 
living.  The  change  is  made  from  a  slow  agricultural 
to  a  rapid  industrial  pace  —  with  little  gain  and  con- 


232  Americanization 

siderable  loss.  Some  day  the  immigrant  awakens  to 
the  tragedy  of  his  industrial  predicament  and  America 
receives  the  blame.  She  fails  to  win  his  loyalty,  and 
makes  the  assimilation  process  unnecessarily  difficult. 

There  are  six  methods  of  finding  employment  in  the 
United  States  which  are  open  to  the  incoming  immi- 
grant, or  more  particularly,  to  the  immigrant  who  has 
left  or  lost  one  position  and  is  looking  for  another. 
( I )  He  may  seek  work  through  his  friends.  -But  this 
method  under  the  conditions  of  modern  large-scale 
industry  is  not  far-reaching.  (2)  He  may  apply  per- 
sonally. But  the  immigrant,  perhaps  not  yet  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  English  language,  is  at  a  decided 
disadvantage  when  he  appears  singly  at  the  office  door 
of  a  factory  superintendent  and  asks  for  work.  Not 
all  native  Americans  would  have  the  courage  to  appear 
at  such  an  office  door.  (3)  The  padrone  system  is 
available  for  securing  a  position.  But  the  padrone  is 
often  an  exploiter.  (4)  Collective  bargaining  is  effect- 
ive, but  this  method  is  open  only  to  skilled  laborers 
who  are  organized.  The  mass  of  the  unskilled  are 
unable  to  bargain  collectively.  (5)Labor  and  employ- 
ment agencies  exist  for  the  express  purpose  of  securing 
work  for  the  unemployed.  A  fee  is  charged.  A  con- 
siderable amount  of  fraud  is  perpetrated  by  these 
agencies. 

The  last  method  (6)  to  be  mentioned  calls  for  par- 
ticular emphasis.  A  thoroughly  co-ordinated  system 
of  municipal,  state  and  Federal  labor  agencies  or  ex- 
changes serves  the  needs  of  immigrants  better  than  any 
other  procedure.  There  are  several  states  and  cities 
in  our  country  which  have  inaugurated  free  labor  ex- 
changes.   The  Federal  Government  during  the  World 


Industrial  Phases  233 

War  opened  a  chain  of  federal  exchanges,  but  a  lack 
of  appropriated  money  made  it  necessary  to  discontinue 
this  important  work.  Only  through  a  complete  com- 
mand of  the  employment  situation,  such  as  the  Federal 
Government  is  in  a  position  to  assume,  can  the  problem 
of  unemployment  as  related  to  immigrants  be  solved. 
Free  labor  exchanges  are  needed  throughout  the  nation, 
wherever  persons  are  employed  in  considerable  num- 
bers. By  helping  the  immigrants  to  secure  workj 
by  making  employment  adjustments,  and  by  giving 
friendly  advice,  the  government  labor  exchanges  can 
become  indirect  but  exceedingly  important  Americani- 
zation agencies. 

The  relation  of  immigration  to  wages  has  been  vig- 
orously discussed.  Many  persons,  especially  labor 
leaders,  have  argued  that  a  large  influx  of  immigrants 
increases  the  labor  supply  and  compels  all  laborers  in 
a  given  class  to  accept  lower  wages  than  they  would 
have  done  otherwise.  As  immigration  has  brought 
millions  of  unskilled  workers,  it  is  claimed  that  the 
wages  of  the  poorest  people  —  those  who  are  most  in 
need  of  a  larger  income  —  have  been  kept  down  to  or 
even  below  a  subsistence  level. 

Labor  leaders  have"^ccused  employers  of  favoring 
unrestricted  immigration  and  high  tariff;  the  one  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  wages  low,  and  the  other,  to 
keep  selling  prices  high — thus  guaranteeing  large  prof- 
its through  exploiting  immigrant  labor  on  one  hand, 
and  the  consumer  on  the  other  hand.  But  other  fac- 
tors, besides  supply  and  demand,  affect  the  labor  situa- 
tion, and  the  contention  of  labor  leaders  cannot  be 
accepted  too  literally.  There  is  no  doubt,  however, 
that  a  large  immigration  of  illiterate,  unskilled  workers 


234  Americanization 

has  seriously  affected  the  question  of  wages.  Sufficient 
data  are  not  at  hand  to  justify  a  specific  concktsion.  A 
general  conclusion  may  be  given :  immigration  has 
prevented  wages  from  rising  as  rapidly  as  they  would 
otherwise  have  done. 

A  more  important  measure  than  restricting  immi- 
gration would  be  measures  for  training  unskilled  work- 
ers along  lines  of  vocational  guidance,  for  increasing 
their  industrial  efficiency,  and  for  enabling  them  to 
become  participants  in  the  management  of  the  indus- 
tries in  which  they  are  employed.  There  is  great  dan- 
ger in  sudden  large  influxes  of  unskilled  immigrants; 
they  temporarily  lower  wages,  and  cause  unemploy- 
ment difficulties.  But  a  regulated  influx,  based  on 
labor  needs  and  rate  of  assimilation  need  not  seriously 
affect  wages,  providing  standards  of  vocational  pro- 
ficiency and  industrial  democracy  are  taught  and  estab- 
lished. 

During  an  industrial  depression,  thousands  of  im- 
migrants return  to  Europe.  But  other  thousands  are 
stranded  here.  Although  immigrants  do  not  cause  in- 
dustrial panics,  the  presence  of  millions  of  unskilled, 
illiterate  immigrants  makes  the  unemployment  and 
poverty  situations  very  difficult  to  meet.  Adult  educa- 
tion for  immigrants  in  times  of  industrial  prosperity 
and  a  constructive  system  of  Federal  and  local  labor 
exchanges  will  help  materially  in  meeting  the  acute 
problems  that  arise  in  connection  with  immigrants 
during  periods  of  industrial  depression.  Constructive 
and  a  priori  thinking  and  acting  in  these  matters  are 
essential  to  an  adequate  Americanization  procedure. 

What  Is  the  relation  of  Immigration  to  labor  unions? 
Trade  unions  are  often  composed  almost  entirely  of 


'^  Industrial  Phases  235 

skilled  immigrants.  The  leaders  of  unions  are  fre- 
quently immigrants.  In  the  coal  mining  districts,  for 
example,  the  Irish  furnish  the  leadership  for  the  un- 
ions; they  also  commonly  are  the  leaders  among  strike 
breakers.  But  labor  unionists  generally  oppose  unre- 
stricted immigration. 

Before  1914,  unskilled  immigrants  had  been  coming 
faster  than  the  unions  could  absorb  them.  The  in- 
coming unskilled  immigrant  does  not  appreciate  the 
advantages  of  belonging  to  a  union.  If  he  joins,  he 
soon  tires  of  paying  dues  and  drops  his  membership. 
In  certain  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  unskilled  immi- 
grants have  been  employed  in  such  numbers  that  the 
unions  have  found  themselves  helpless,  and  in  some 
cases  they  have  been  forced  to  disband.  Employers, 
on  the  other  hand,  have  often  placed  small  numbers 
of  immigrants  of  several  races  together  in  the  same 
shop  or  department,  and  thereby  prevented  that  con- 
sciousness of  kind  from  arising  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  any  labor  organization. 

The  labor  union  has  often  given  the  immigrant  his 
first  lesson  in  democracy.  The  alien  has  come  perhaps 
from  a  country  where  he  has  never  voted  and  had  no 
voice  in  law-making,  t^i  the  union,  he  votes,  he  helps 
to  make  laws  or  rules,  he  participates  in  the  discus- 
sions, he  learns  to  obey  the  rules  which  he  has  helped 
to  make,  and  he  supports  the  leaders  whom  he  has  as- 
sisted in  electing.  In  consequence,  he  gets  a  personal 
meaning  for  the  first  time  of  the  concept  of  democracy. 

The  labor  union  and  its  principle  of  collective  bar- 
gaining are  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  immigrant 
in  the  United  States  under  present  conditions.  Other- 
wise, he  is  helpless  before  the  shrewdness  of  his  em- 


236  Americanization  ._ 

ployer.  But  since  the  unskilled  immigrant  does  not 
appreciate  the  labor  union,  some  other  measures  are 
necessary  in  order  to  secure  him  justice,  (i)  Educa- 
tion in  English  and  in  industrial  conditions  will  help 
him.  (2)  Shop  management  will  prove  valuable,  if 
applied  democratically.  (3)  But  most  important,  a 
new  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  employer  is  needed. 
The  employer  needs  to  realize  that  labor,  as  Abraham 
Lincoln  said,  takes  precedence  over  capital  in  product- 
ive enterprises.  The  welfare  of  labor,  even  unskilled 
immigrant  labor,  is  a  more  important  factor  than  the 
welfare  of  capital.  If  one  factor  must  be  sacrificed, 
then  it  must  be  the  latter.  By  the  adoption  of  this 
principle  of  considering  labor  not  a  commodity  to  be 
bought  at  the  lowest  possible  price,  but  as  human  life 
with  hopes  and  aspirations  to  be  encouraged  and 
brought  to  fruition  through  useful  human  products, 
the  Americanization  of  immigrants  will  become  almost 
automatic. 

The  industrial  accident  rate  in  the  United  States  is 
abnormally  high.  In  the  coal  mines,  for  example,  the 
percentage  of  fatal  accidents  has  averaged  about  twice 
as  high  as  in  the  British  Empire,  Belgium,  or  France. 
This  high  rate  has  persisted  despite  the  fact  that  our 
coal  mines  are  not  as  deep  or  dangerous  as  those  in 
England  or  on  the  Continent.  Inasmuch  as  a  large 
percentage  of  the  coal  miners  in  the  United  States  are 
immigrants,  the  accident  rate  falls  heaviest  upon  them. 
In  fact,  in  nearly  all  catastrophes  in  industry  where 
many  lives  are  lost  at  a  time,  immigrants  bear  the  brunt 
of  the  disaster. 

Americanization  means  that  these  terrible  lasses 
which  immigrants  suffer  will  be  prevented  or  greatly 


Industrial  Phases  237 

alleviated.  The  chief  need  in  attaining  this  end  is  that 
industry  be  humanized.  The  immigrant's  welfare 
must  be  put  ahead  of  profits  or  any  other  economic 
factor.  When  that  standard  is  incorporated  into  the 
daily  processes  of  industry,  the  accident  rate  will  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  Several  important  changes  in 
industrial  conditions  will  follow,  (i)  Men  will  re- 
ceive better  care  than  mules.  When  a  fire  occurs  in 
a  mine,  the  cry  will  no  longer  be  heard,  "Save  the 
mules  first."  When  dynamite  explodes  and  an  immi- 
grant is  killed,  the  comment  will  no  longer  be,  "Poor 
fellow,  he  didn't  know  any  better." 

(2)  The  industrial  pace  will  be  slackened  to  protect 
adequately  the  lives  of  the  workers.  The  bosses  will 
not  be  continually  driven  by  orders  from  the  superin- 
tendent to  make  a  record  in  production  —  irrespective 
of  the  hves  of  the  men.  (3)  The  men  who  work  near 
together  in  a  hazardous  occupation  will  be  taught  suffi- 
cient English  to  understand  one  another  and  to  develop 
a  co-operative  feeling  before  they  are  allowed  to  under- 
take dangerous  work. 

It  has  been  true  in  the  United  States  and  still  is  true 
in  some  states  that  when  a  man  is  injured  in  industry 
he  has  had  to  fight  t!Te  corporation's  lawyers  or  the 
lawyers  of  the  employers'  liability  insurance  company 
for  damages.  Often  the  man  has  been  visited  by  the 
lawyers  while  he  is  still  sick  and  almost  forced  to  sign 
papers  which  for  a  small  sum  release  the  employer 
from  damages.  The  sum  which  has  been  granted  by 
the  employing  concern,  even  to  the  widow  in  case  of 
the  death  of  the  wage-earner,  has  usually  been  about 
$200  or  $300,  an  amount  sufficient  to  meet  funeral 
expenses  only.     The  widow  perhaps  with  small  chil- 


238  Americmiization 

dren  is  left  without  funds  —  a  charity  patient.  These 
difficulties  beset  the  immigrants  and  especially  those 
least  able  to  defend  themselves.  As  a  result,  the 
United  States  proves  an  almost  irrevocable  disappoint- 
ment to  immigrants,  and  generates  cynicism  rather  than 
loyalty. 

The  workmen's  compensation  principle  has  been 
adopted  in  many  states  to  meet  this  situation.  The 
assumption  is  that  accidents  should  be  charged  to  pro- 
duction and  the  injured  or  his  widow  given  a  material 
compensation  for  the  injury.  This  plan  inaugurates 
justice,  but  it  still  is  not  in  operation  throughout  all 
our  states. 

The  immigrants  are  also  victirns  of  occupational  dis-> 
eases,  such  as  lead  poisoning  or  tuberculosis.  The 
sickness  rate  in  many  occupations,  by  virtue  of  their 
nature,  is  excessive.  The  immigrant  laborer  suffers  a 
period  of  sickness,  loses  his  wages  for  that  period,  and 
at  the  end  faces  the  sickness  bills.  Consequently,  since 
some  occupations  produce  a  high  liability  to  disease, 
the  problem  becomes  acute.  Immigrant  laborers  are 
driven  to  despair,  and  in  the  losing  fight  which  circum- 
stances forces  them  to  put  up  unaided,  they  curse  the 
land  which  once  held  out  to  them  alluring  promises. 
The  campaign  for  health  insurance  laws  in  the  various 
states  is  an  essential  element  in  a  sound  Americaniza- 
tion program. 

Another  related  program  is  labor  turnover.  Some 
employing  establishments  report  a  labor  turnover  of 
100  per  cent  in  two  years.  Such  firms  are  continually 
engaged  in  "hiring  and  firing"  employees.  This  pro- 
cess is  expensive  to  the  employer  and  the  consumer, 
and  demoralizing  to  the  employee.    A  leading  cause  is 


Industrial  Phases  239 

a  mutual  lack  of  understanding  and  adjustment.  A 
plan  such  as  that  which  Henry  Ford  was  one  of  the 
first  employers  to  adopt  on  a  large  scale,  of  trying  out 
an  employee  in  several  different  lines  of  work  and  of 
training  him  to  do  4he  types  of  work  for  which  he  is 
best  fitted  is  correct  in  principle.  Such  a  human  pro- 
cedure redounds  not  only  to  the  advantage  of  industry 
but  of  Americanization  work.  The  immigrant  is  quick 
to  appreciate,  as  a  rule,  the  kindly,  directing  attitude 
of  a  public-spirited,  unselfish  employer.  From  this  at- 
titude a  series  of  measures  can  proceed  which  will 
reduce  labor  turnover  to  a  minimum  and  at  the  same 
time  further  the  principles  of  sound  Americanism. 

The  problem  of  banking  has  confronted  the  immi- 
grant. He  has  been  thrifty,  but  he  has  not  known 
how  to  put  his  savings  at  interest.  He  has  hid  his 
money,  or  more  likely  he  has  left  it  with  a  store-keeper 
of  his  own  race.  This  store-keeper  has  usually  proved 
honest,  and  turned  back  the  savings  to  the  depositor 
when  called  for.  It  has  been  the  custom  for  the  immi- 
grant to  allow  perhaps  fifty  to  100  dollars  to  accumu- 
late and  then  to  send  the  sum  back  to  the  home  country. 

The  store-keeper,  or  immigrant  banker,  has  rarely 
paid  interest  on  the  mmiey  which  is  intrusted  to  his 
care  by  the  immigrants.  But  he  has  invested  the  funds 
in  his  own  business,  put  them  in  the  regular  banks  on 
interest,  or  even  loaned  them  to  private  parties.  He 
has  usually  kept  enough  cash  on  hand  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  immigrants  who  wish  to  withdraw 
their  funds.  As  a  result  of  the  loose  "banking"  meth- 
ods, some  of  the  so-called  immigrant  bankers  have  ab- 
sconded or  otherwise  defrauded  the  immigrant  patrons. 
Several  states  have  passed  laws  requiring  protection 


240  Americanization 

of  the  depositors.  But  the  question  arises:  How  can 
the  immigrant  be  stimulated  to  invest  his  money  in 
productive  enterprises  in  this  country  or  to  put  it  into 
American  banks  at  the  standard  savings  account  rate  of 
interest,  instead  of  hoarding  it  awd  sending  it  to  his 
home  land  ? 

At  once  it  may  be  said  that  the  immigrant  is  entitled 
to  send  his  money  out  of  the  country  if  he  wishes. 
For  each  dollar  of  it,  he  has  usually  rendered  more 
than  a  dollar's  worth  of  productive  service  to  the  coun- 
try. But  if  the  opportunities  for  putting  his  surplus 
savings  into  economic  production  in  this  country  were 
made  safe  and  attractive,  not  only  he,  but  the  cause 
of  production  and  the  welfare  of  the  nation  would  be 
favorably  affected.  He  lacks  confidence  in  ''the  mar- 
ble-faced, mahogany-upholstered,  and  brass-trimmed 
American  bank."  Another  essential  of  Americaniza- 
tion is  for  employers  and  business  men  to  cultivate  the 
confidence  of  the  immigrant  —  and  to  deserve  that  con- 
fidence. 

The  immigrant  has  been  unjustly  criticized  for  send- 
ing millions  of  dollars  annually  to  Europe.  By  so 
doing,  however,  he  diminishes  the  gold  supply  of  the 
country  and  thereby  lowers  the  price  levels,  and  also 
increases  the  purchasing  power  of  the  country  to  which 
he  sends  his  money,  enabling  that  country  to  swell  our 
export  trade.  It  is  true,  however,  that  if  the  immi- 
grant's saving  were  safely  invested  in  the  United 
States,  the  nation  as  a  whole  and  in  the  largest  sense 
would  possess  a  greater  unity  and  strength  than  when 
the  immigrant's  money  goes  out  of  the  country.  The 
nation  can  afford  to  offer  inducements  whereby  the 
immigrant  will  change  his  mental  attitude  and  choose 


Industrial  Phases  241 

to  make  his  investments  here.  The  time  is  coming, 
if  it  has  not  already  arrived,  when  the  United  States 
cannot  admit  the  immigrant  who  comes  simply  to  make 
money  and  return  to  a  foreign  country.  If  he  is  ad-, 
mitted,  it  must  be  as  a  home-seeker  and  a  future  citizen 
as  well  as  a  workman. 

The  industrial  phases  of  Americanization  apply  to 
the  native-born  more  than  to  the  foreign-born.  The 
former  have  nearly  all  the  advantages,  and  hence  must 
bear  a  large  proportion  of  the  responsibilities.  The 
industrial  Americanization  of  the  immigrant  is  simply 
a  part  of  the  larger  problem  of  securing  industrial 
democracy  in  the  United  States  for  all  classes  of  work- 
men. When  the  economic  system  of  this  country  is 
made  over  so  as  to  guarantee  representation  and  par- 
ticipation in  industry  for  all,  laborers  as  well  as  capi- 
talists, when  the  human  interests  of  labor  are  put  ahead 
of  the  material  interests  of  capital,  and  when  all  persons 
engaged  in  the  production  of  economic  goods  learn  to 
co-operate  on  the  basis  of  good  will,  the  industrial 
phases  of  Americanization  will  be  solved. 

The  situation  calls  for  the  development  of  brotherly 
relations  between  employer  and  employee.  Wherever 
immigrants  are  employed,  the  strategic  position  is  often 
held  by  the  foreman  or  boss.  He  can  act  in  an  auto- 
cratic, inhuman,  and  un-American  way ;  or  he  can  be  an 
interpreter  and  a  teacher  of  the  best  type  of  Ameri-, 
canism. 

The  new  industrial  order,  according  to  sound  Amer- 
icanization principles,  will  be  one  which  will  not  strive 
to  train  the  unskilled  immigrant  into  ''a  race  of  docile 
workhorses."  It  will  be  one  in  which  the  immigrant 
laborer    will    be    stimulated  to  produce  efficiently,  to 


242  Americanization 

assist  in  working  out  the  principles  of  democracy  in 
industrial  relationships,  and  through  these  processes 
to  develop  his  personality  to  the  fullest  and  richest 
extent. 


PROBLEMS 

1.  If  you  have  moved  from  one  state  to  another  in 

the  United  States,   what  have  been  the  chief 
reasons  ? 

2.  Is  it  true  that  America  frequently  makes  of  the 

immigrant  an  infuriated  toiler? 

3.  Do  you  favor  a  head  tax  for  immigrants?    Why? 

4.  Why  not  repeal  the  contract  labor  law? 

5.  What  are  the  objections  to  the  work  principle  of 

admission  which  Canada  has  followed? 

6.  Why  is  the  immigrant  exploited  and  swindled  so 

much? 

7.  Why  do  immigrants  dislike  to  move  from  large 

cities  into  rural  districts? 

8.  What  would  happen  if  there  were  no  unskilled 

immigrant  laborers  in  this  country? 

9.  What  would  happen  industrially  if  all  immigrants 

should  take  some  Americans  at  their  word  and 
leave  the  country  permanently? 

10.  Explain :    Time  is  commercialized  in  the  United 

States. 

11.  In  what  ways  does  the  labor  turnover  problem 

hinder  Americanization  ? 

12.  Why    do    new    immigrants    mistrust    the    large 

American  banks? 


Industrial  Phases  243 

13.  Is  it  true  that  in  the  United  States  there  is  an 

idle  leisure  class  built  in  part  upon  the  industrial 
servitude  of  immigrant  races? 

14.  Why  do  the  problems  of  industrial  Americaniza- 

tion rest  chiefly  on  the  native-born  ? 


Chapter  XVIII 
SOCIAL  PHASES  OF  AMERICANIZATION 

The  social  phases  of  Americanization  begin  in  the 
steerage.  The  new  type  of  steerage  represents  fairly 
satisfactory  conditions,  but  the  old  type  expresses 
oftentimes  the  worst  possible  introduction  to  American 
life.  The  old  type  still  exists  on  the  ships  carrying 
immigrants  between  Mediterranean  ports  and  the 
United  States,  and  thus  on  ships  which  are  bringing 
Italian,  Greek,  Slavic,  Jewish,  and  other  immigrants. 
The  air  in  the  steerage  of  these  ships  soon  becomes 
foul,  but  remains  unchanged.  The  floors,  if  iron,  are 
damp;  and  if  wooden,  are  likely  to  be  filthy.  The 
food  is  unwholesome.  Overcrowding  is  sometimes 
common.  During  storms,  the  steerage  passengers  are 
often  sick  for  several  days,  nevertheless,  very  little  is 
done  for  the  comfort  of  the  passengers.  The  floors  of 
the  steerage  are  usually  not  cleaned  until  the  ship 
nears  America.  Moral  conditions  are  frequently  bad. 
During  the  voyage  of  ten  to  seventeen  days,  the  immi- 
grants are  rendered  subnormal  both  physically  and 
mentally,  if  not  demoralized.  There  is  need  that  the 
social  standards  be  improved,  even  if  the  cost  of  the 
voyage  be  increased.  There  is  need  that  matrons,  rep- 
resenting the  United  States  immigration  service,  travel 
in  the  steerage  of  the  immigrant-carrying  ships. 

When  the  immigrant  lands  at  the  immigration  sta- 
tion, his  first  series  of  impressions  may  be  unfavorable. 
Instead  of  being  treated  with,  the  spirit  of  courtesy 


Social  Phases  245 

which  he  himself  possesses,  he  is  often  herded  in  pens 
and  driven  like  cattle.  He  comes,  bringing  ideas, 
ideals,  and  a  culture  often  centuries  old.  He,  also,  has 
pictured  what  America  is  like,  but  alas,  "the  first  im- 
pact of  America  is  disappointing."  When  he  rides  on 
"a  jangling,  rickety  old  street-car  that  bounces  him 
along  through  one  shabby  alley  after  another"  on  the 
way  to  the  East  Side  in  New  York  City,  he  beholds 
the  revolting  miseiy,  as  M.  E.  Rnvage  puts  it,  and 
wonders  why  this  misery  exists  in  the  presence  of 
illimitable  wealth.  He  wonders  why  Americans  are 
so  callous  to  the  juxtaposition  of  so  much  misery  and 
so  much  wealth.  He  wonders  if  there  is  not  a  worm  at 
the  heart  of  America.  The  boasted  American  free- 
dom, continues  Mr.  Ravage,  turns  out  to  be  freedom  to 
sell  cabbages  from  a  pushcart  and  freedom  to  live  in 
monstrous  dirty  caves  that  shut  out  the  sunshine  — 
called  tenements. 

The  immigrant  trains  from  New  York  City  leave  in 
the  evening  and  arrive,  for  examp'e,  at  the  industrial 
centers  in  Pennsylvania  at  midnight  or  in  the  early 
morning  hours.  Other  immigrant  trains  reach  Chi- 
cago and  other  points  at  irregular  hours.  Often  the 
immigrants  reach  the*tailroad  stations  when  there  is 
no  one  waiting  to  meet  them.  Consequently,  immigra- 
tion halls  are  needed.  These  halls,  under  Federal  con- 
trol, are  needed  in  the  industrial  centers  and  the  large 
cities.  The  railroads  should  deliver  immigrant  pas- 
sengers to  the  immigration  hall  in  the  city  to  which 
the  immigrant  is  going.  Here  the  immigrant  should 
receive  a  cordial  welcome  by  sympathetic  officials,  and 
made  to  feel  that  the  United  State?  wishes  to  be  of 
service  to  him  in  locating  his  friends  or  relatives  and 


246  Americmiization 

in  making  other  needed  adjustments.  The  halls  could 
be  operated  in  conjunction  with  the  Federal  labor  ex- 
changes. The  two  institutions  could  serve  as  excellent 
Americanization  stations. 

A  leading  social  problem  in  the  United  States  is 
poverty.  What  is  the  relation  of  immigration  to  pov- 
erty ?  As  far  as  the  available  figures  show,  the  foreign- 
born  of  voting  age  in  our  country  constitute  an  undue 
percentage  of  the  total  number  of  persons  who  are  re- 
ceiving public  aid.  Their  percentage  rate  is  nearly 
twice  that  of  the  native-born  of  voting  age.  But  the 
percentage  rate  of  the  native-born  of  foreign-born 
parentage  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  native- 
born  of  native  parentage.  These  percentages  show 
that  the  foreign-born  suffer  undulv  from  the  econom.ic 
problem  of  making  ends  meet.  The  adjustments  which 
immigrants  must  make  in  our  land  under  strange" 
conditions  puts  them  at  a  great  disadvantage.  Fur- 
ther, many  of  them  arrive  in  this  country  with  slight 
funds.  They  are  in  economic  danger  at  the  outset  of 
their  career  in  the  United  States  until  they  get  on 
their  feet  industrially.  And  then,  in  old  age,  or  when 
they  get  past  their  earning  years,  they  again  approach 
the  charity  line.  The  cost  of  living  often  prevents 
them  from  saving.  In  addition  to  a  thrift  program, 
an  old  age  insurance  system  is  needed. 

Does  immigration  increase  crime  in  the  United 
States?  The  studies  of  criminal  statistics  show  that 
as  far  as  the  foreign-born  are  concerned  the  percent- 
age-rale of  crime  is  about  the  same  as,  or  slightly  less 
than  the  rate  for  the  native-born  of  native  parents, 
that  the  foreign-born  population  over  15  years  of  age 
The  criminal  records  for  Chicago  for   191 5   showed 


Social  Phases  247 

constituted  43.7  per  cent  of  the  entire  population,  but 
furnished  only  30.  i  per  cent  of  the  arrests  and  less  than 
24  per  cent  of  the  convictions.  Despite  their  lack  of 
acquaintance  with  American  laws  and  procedure,  im- 
migrants are  as  law-abiding  as,  if  not  more  so  than  the 
average  American. 

A  definite  percentage  of  offenses  of  immigrants  is 
due  to  ignorance  concerning  American  customs.  For 
example,  an  Italian  woman  was  arrested  for  putting 
ashes  in  the  alley.  She  had  come,  however,  from  an 
Italian  village  where  she  was  required  by  law  to  put 
ashes  in  the  street,  as  a  substitute  for  paving.  When 
she  followed  a  similar  procedure  in  the  United  States 
and  presumably  was  abiding  by  the  law,  she  was  ar- 
rested. 

An  examination  of  the  criminal  statistics  indicates 
that  in  gainful  offenses,  that  is,  offenses  against  prop- 
erty, the  foreign-born  races  rank  lower  than  native 
Americans.  In  this  particular,  the  percentage-rate,  for 
example,  of  the  Italians  is  less  than  one-half  that  of 
Americans.  On  the  other  hand,  the  personal  violence 
offenses  of  the  English  immigrant  rank  lowest,  while 
those  of  the  Italian  are  unusually  hisfh,  perhaps  three 
times  as  great  as  the  similar  type  of  offenses  among  na- 
tive Americans.  The  records  show  that  many  for- 
eigners are  convicted  of  offenses  a.ofainst  public  policy, 
such  as  the  breaking  of  city  ordinances.  On  the  whofe. 
the  immigrant  himself  has  as  good  a  record  regarding 
conduct  as  the  native-born  of  native  parents.  Outside 
of  ignorance  of  our  laws  and  customs,  the  same  causes 
which  lead  the  immigrant  to  criminal  acts  also  lead  the 
native  in  the  same  path. 

When  we  turn  to  the  children  of  the  immigrant,  to 


34^  Americanization 

the  native-born  of  foreign  parentage,  we  find  a  different 
situation.  With  this  class,  the  percentage  rate  is  near- 
ly twice  the  rate  for  either  the  foreign-born  or  the 
natives  of  native  parentage.  It  seems  that  while  the 
immigrant  is  undergoing  the  diflficulties  of  getting  in- 
dustrially adjusted,  his  adolescent  children  break  away 
from  parental  discipline  into  the  undisciplined  Ameri- 
can city  environments  and  fall  into  delinquency  and 
later  into  crime.  There  are  many  factors  which  cause 
the  parents  to  lose  control  over  their  children.  The 
public  schools  in  educating  the  children  in  American 
ways  cause  the  children  to  feel  superior  to  parents 
and  even  to  feel  ashamed  of  them.  If  the  immigrant 
family  could  be  Americanized  together,  serious  prob- 
lems would  be  avoided. 

Rural  delinquency  statistics  indicate  that  the  chil- 
dren of  immigrants  are  no  more  prone  to  wrong-doing 
than  are  other  children.  In  consequence,  it  would  seem 
that  the  American  urban  environment  is  the  chief 
cause  of  the  high  degree  of  delinquency  among  immi- 
grant children.  The  cause  is  not  to  be  found  in  racial 
heredity,  but  in  urban  environmental  conditions. 
"America  is  doing  it."  By  cutting  ofif  the  child's  con- 
tact with  the  parents'  culture  and  traditions  suddenly, 
before  the  child  has  developed  self-control  under  Amer- 
ican conditions,  the  special  problem  of  undue  delin- 
quency among  the  native-born  of  foreign  parentage  is 
produced. 

The  most  diflficult  phase  of  the  immigration  ques- 
tion is  its  relation  to  the  white  slave  trafific.  The 
Immigration  Commission  that  was  appointed  by  Pres- 
ident Roosevelt  reported  that  the  importation  and  har- 
boring of  alien  women  and  girls  constituted  the  most 


Social  Phases  249 

pitiful  phase  of  immigration  to  the  United  States.  The 
Commission  estimated  that  thousands  of  alien  girls  and 
women  were  being  imported  into  the  country  every 
year  for  immoral  purposes.  The  report  shows  that 
often  as  high  as  $1000  is  paid  for  an  unusually  at- 
tractive girl.  Prostitution,  which  exists  as  an  illegal 
institution  in  the  United  States,  is  destroying  the  lives 
of  immigrant  girls  and  women  who  are  coming  to  this 
country  as  victims  of  the  white  slave  traffic.  Aliens 
who  come  as  prostitutes  or  procurers,  if  found  out,  are 
debarred,  or  if  discovered  after  entry  are  deported. 
The  problem  as  related  to  the  immigrant  is  a  phase  of 
the  larger  problem  of  sex  immorality  in  this  country. 

Immigrants  suffer  greatly  from  bad  housing  condi- 
tions. They  come  in  large  part  to  this  country  from 
the  open  fields  and  the  small  villages.  Here  most  of 
them  find  housing  accommodations  in  dark,  sunshine- 
less  tenements.  They  live  under  conditions  of  fright- 
ful overcrowding.  As  their  numbers  increase,  the 
value  of  property  and  rents  —  under  our  economic  sys- 
tem — automatically  rise  until  overcrowding  precludes 
moral  and  sanitary  living.  Americanization  involves 
the  necessity  of  making  over  the  economic  system  so 
that  while  real  estate  Values  rise  and  create  million- 
aires the  poor  people  may  not  be  crushed  between  the 
millstones  of  increasing  rents  and  decreasing  living 
space. 

In  mining  camps  the  un-American  boarding-boss  sys- 
tem is  not  uncommon.  The  head  of  the  household  is 
a  man,  or  a  man  and  his  wife.  The  "boarding-boss" 
buys  the  food  and  distributes  the  cost  pro  rata  among 
the  boarders.  The  boss  is  paid  a  certain  sum  per  month 
for  furnishing  lodging  and  for  doing  the  cooking  and 


250  Americanization 

washing.  Often  the  rooms  and  beds  are  occupied  by 
two  sets  of  boarders,  one  by  day  and  the  other  by 
night. 

Then  there  is  the  freight  car  type  of  housing.  The 
laborers  who  are  doing  railroad  maintenance  and  yard 
work  are  often  housed  by  racial  units  in  separate 
freight  cars.  Conditions  are  primitive,  and  decidedly 
un-American.  Both  the  boarding-boss  system  and  the 
freight-car  type  of  housing  are  inadequate.  Ameri- 
canization consists,  in  part,  in  modifying  housing  con- 
ditions so  that  the  immigrant  may  have  at  least  the 
minimum  of  respectable  housing  standards.  Give  the 
immigrant  family  a  fair  opportunity  to  have  light, 
sunshine,  plumbing,  room  space,  and  perhaps  a  small 
plot  of  ground,  instead  of  the  present  deplorable  quar- 
ters, and  Americanization  work  will  be  immeasureably 
facilitated. 

The  immigrant  does  not  make  the  so-called  slum. 
The  slums  of  Edinburgh  are  occupied  by  natives  —  the  . 
Scotch.  Economic  evils  cause  the  slums.  The  slum 
has  been  called  the  worst  possible  Americanization 
school.  Spare  the  slum  and  spoil  the  immigrant,  is 
now  an  axiom.  Americanization  calls  for  the  abolition 
of  the  slum.  But  until  the  day  when  slums  are  abol- 
ished and  the  fundamental  economic  cause  of  congested 
housing  conditions  is  remedied,  the  landlord  and  the 
rent  collector  ought  to  assume  their  responsibilities  as 
true  Americanizers.  They  ought  no  longer  to  be  blind 
to  their  responsibilities  as  friendly  visitors. 

The  public  health  nurse  performs  splendid  Ameri- 
canization work.  She  is  a  public  representative,  carry- 
ing relief  from  sickness,  and  even  more  important, 
carrying  good  will  into  the  habitations  of  the  poorest ' 


Social  Phases  251 

and  most  needy  immigrants.  She  is  one  of  the  few 
Americans  who  bring  genuine  Americanism  to  the  im- 
migrant mother.  She  goes  where  human  needs  are 
greatest,  explaining  in  simplest  terms  the  findings  of 
modern  scientific  m.edicine  to  illiterate  mothers  but 
mothers  of  future  American  citizens.  She  brings  re- 
lief from  worry  to  the  immigrant  mother  when  the 
latter  is  most  distracted.  She  is  able  to  put  the  immi- 
grant home  in  touch  with  all  the  constructive  agencies 
in  the  community  or  city,  and  thus  to  further  greatly 
the  process  of  Americanization.  Best  of  all,  the  public 
health  nurse  raises  not  only  the  health  standards  of  a 
community,  but  disseminates  the  spirit  of  true  Ameri- 
canism wherever  she  ministers. 

The  use  of  leisure  time  is  becoming  an  increasingly 
important  problem  in  the  United  States,  viewed  in  its 
relation  to  the  immigrant.  With  the  shortening  of 
labor  hours  and  the  development  of  commercialized 
amusements,  the  immigrant  boy  and  girl  falls  a  victim 
to  disintegrating  influences.  With  the  sudden  break- 
ing of  parental  control  and  with  equally  sudden  release 
into  the  undisciplined  urban  attractions  of  our  cities, 
the  youth  of  immigrant  parents  is  constantly  in  danger 
of  absorbing  the  worst  Tather  than  the  best  of  Ameri- 
can life.  The  sudden  change  from  perhaps  a  rigid, 
harsh,  parental  control  to  a  free,  easy,  jazzy,  irreverent, 
urban  atmosphere  is  not  the  normal  process  of  making* 
fine  types  of  Americans. 

The  American  rushes  about  when  he  plays.  He 
drives  at  thirty-five  miles  an  hour  in  order  to  relax. 
He  patronizes  the  latest  nerve-destroying  devices  in 
order  to  get  re-created.  His  recreation  is  work  rather 
than  play.    He  often  works  harder  when  he  plays  than 


252  Americanization 

when  he  works.  The  immigrant,  on  the  other  hand, 
plays  for  play's  sake.  His  recreation  is  characterized 
by  leisure.  But  after  he  has  been  in  this  country  for  a 
period  of  years,  he  is  likely  to  manifest  the  American 
intensity  in  his  leisure  as  well  as  in  his  working  hours. 
His  children,  acquire  this  intensity  without  delay.  And 
thus  the  whirling,  sickening  pace  of  modern  industry 
comes  to  dominate  the  new  Americans  through  all  their 
waking  hours.  It  may  be  seriously  questioned  whether 
Americans  should  not  go  to  school  to  the  immigrant 
with  reference  to  his  fundamental  philosophy  concern- 
ing leisure  hours. 

The  immigrant  is  noted  for  his  fraternal  organiza- 
tions. The  "group"  is  a  much  stronger  concept  with 
the  foreign-born  than  with  the  native-born.  Wherever 
a  small  number  of  immigrants  of  a  given  European 
race  are  gathered  together,  a  fraternal  organization 
exists.  This  organization  may  take  the  form  of  a 
sokol,  an  orthodox  community,  a  church  society.  Many 
of  these  various  racial  organizations  form  national  al- 
liances, such  as  the  Polish  National  Alliance.  While 
they  are  furthering  the  respective  racial  cultures,  they 
are  also  available  as  splendid  media  for  introducing 
American  ideals  to  the  hundreds  of  thousands  or  even 
millions  of  constituents. 

In  this  connection  the  opportunities  for  American 
patriotic  societies  are  magnificent.  The  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution  have  begun  to  establish  clubs 
for  foreign-born  children.  The  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution  have  published  leaflets  as  a  means  of  teach- 
ing American  ideals  to  the  immigrants.  The  full  pos- 
sibilities have  not  yet  been  realized.  What  more  pa- 
triotic work  could  be  undertaken  by  a  patriotic  society 


Social  Phases  253 

than  the  devotion  of  its  energy  and  money  to  the  de- 
velopment of  American  ideals  in  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  everyone  who  lives  in  the  United  States?  What 
a  splendid  opportunity  exists  for  our  patriotic  societies 
to  join  with  the  many  national  alliances  of  the  foreign- 
born  in  the  United  States  in  the  promulgation  of  a 
nation-wide  devotion  to  the  principles  of  liberty,  union, 
democracy,  and  brotherhood. 

There  are  many  American  organization  that  have 
never  flaunted  their  patriotism,  which  have  thrown 
their  energies  unstintingly  and  unspectacularly  into 
teaching  and  living  the  principles  of  Americanism  in 
immigrant  communities.  Perhaps  the  chief  of  these 
is  the  social  settlement.  This  institution  was  one  of 
the  first  important  specific  Americanization  agencies  in 
the  country.  For  decades  before  the  term,  Americani- 
zation, came  into  use,  the  social  settlement  workers  had 
been  quietly  and  unselfishly  teaching  and  doing  good 
among  the  immigrant  peoples  of  the  large  cities.  Too 
high  praise  cannot  be  accorded  the  social  settlement 
workers,  persons  of  culture  and  training,  who  have 
lived  among  the  foreign-born,  teaching  Americaniza- 
tion through  kindly  deeds.  The  social  settlements  in 
the  United  States  hava*stood  forth  like  isolated  Stat- 
ues of  Liberty  in  oppressive  urban  districts,  and  have 
carried  the  spirit  of  true  Americanism  to  the  freedom 
hungry  children  from  the  Old  World. 

The  International  Institutes  of  the  Young  Women's 
Qiristian  Association,  first  organized  in  19 12,  have 
borne  a  message  similar  to  that  of  the  social  settlement 
to  the  immigrants,  chiefly,  immigrant  young  women. 
The  International  Institutes  are  performing  a  magnif- 
icent work  in  safeguarding  and  guiding  these  young 


254  Americanization 

women  in  their  transitions  from  the  Old  World  to  the 
New  World.  And  there  have  been  "not  only  thous- 
ands of  simple,  strong,  beautiful  country  girls,  but 
thousands  of  educated  young  women  from  comfortable 
homes"  in  cities,  representing  an  infinite  variety  in 
race,  type,  character,  temperament,  and  gifts,  who  have 
been  and  are  receiving  the  friendly  hand  and  aid  of  the 
International  Institutes. 

Immediate  and  widespread  adoption  should  be  given 
promising  measures,  for  example,  the  plan  that  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  putting  into 
operation  in  191 4  when  halted  by  the  outbreak  of  war. 
Groups  of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers  were  to  be  stationed 
at  European  points  of  embarkation  to  assist  immigrants 
in  getting  started  for  America,  and  to  extend  an  Amer- 
ican welcome.  In  the  steerage  of  ships  other  groups 
of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers  were  to  travel,  assisting,  and 
giving  preliminary  instructions  to  the  immigrant.  At 
the  American  ports  of  entry  a  third  contingent  of 
workers  was  to  be  located;  upon  immigrant  trains,  a 
fourth ;  and  at  interior  industrial  centers,  a  fifth  group. 
Thus,  immigrants  could  travel  from  the  European 
ports  to  an  interior  American  city  under  the  continuous 
direction  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
Since  the  World  War  ended,  this  work  has  again  been 
taken  up.  Port  work  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  as 
well  as  activities  in  behalf  of  the  immigrant  in  a  large 
number  of  industrial  centers,  is  being  conducted. 

Another  splendid  idea  is  represented  by  the  Ameri- 
can House,  Cincinnati,  which  was  inaugurated  by  R. 
J.  Condon,  George  Eisler,  and  other  public-spirited 
citizens  of  Cincinnati.  This  unique  institution  was  for- 
merly a  saloon,  where  immigrants  were  exploited.    It 


Social  Phases  255 

has  now  become  a  club-house  for  immigrants,  where 
Americanization  automatically  takes  place. 

There  are  many  other  organizations  which  are  fur- 
thering assimilation.  The  Boy  Scout  movement  is 
teaching  the  principles  of  Americanism.  The  Camp 
Fire  Girls  give  "points"  or  honors  to  the  members  for 
teaching  English  to  the  foreign-born,  American  games 
to  an  immigrant  girl,  and  American  household  meth- 
ods to  an  immigrant  mother. 

The  relation  of  the  immigrant  to  religion  is  exceed- 
ingly intricate.  The  immigrant  has  usually  come  from 
countries  where  church  and  state  are  closely  interre- 
lated. Frequently,  he  has  come  from  countries  where 
religious  bigotry  has  prevailed,  and  thus  one  of  his 
hopes  in  migrating  to  the  United  States  has  sometimes 
been  to  escape  bigotry  or  persecution.  He  often  feels 
that  the  church  somehow  is  partly  responsible  for  the 
economic  oppression  that  he  has  suffered.  He  some- 
times hates  Christianity  in  whose  name  he  has  been 
persecuted. 

The  dissensions  among  religious  bodies  in  the  United 
States  hinder  greatly  the  so-called  process  of  Christian 
Americanization.  But  many  churches  have  carried  the 
principle  of  human  broiherhood  in  practical  ways  to 
the  immigrants  and  have  demonstarted  that  Christian- 
ity has  in  its  spirit  the  power  to  solve  all  race  and  im- 
migration problems.  If  America  were  to  appeal  to  the 
spiritual  and  religious  nature  of  the  immigrants  to  the 
degree  that  she  has  appealed  to  their  physical  abilities 
in  the  development  of  her  natural  resources,  they  would 
undoubtedly  respond  in  a  manner  that  would  add  tre- 
mendously to  the  backbone  and  life  of  America. 

As  a  rule,  the  immigrant  brings  a  much  greater  ap- 


256  Americanization 

preciation  of  art  and  of  the  esthetic  than  the  average 
American  possesses.  The  immigrant  comes  from 
countries  with  centuries  of  culture  and  where  he  has 
had  time  to  appreciate  the  beautiful.  The  foreigner 
usually  possesses  a  special  love  of  music. 

Americanization,  unfortunately,  has  meant  that  the 
immigrant's  love  of  art  and,  particularly,  music  has 
been  smothered  by  disheartening  conditions  of  living 
and  working.  Overcrowding,  unhealthy  moral  fac- 
tors, and  dehumanizing  labor  processes  have  taken  the 
song  from  the  hearts  of  immigrants. 

Americanization  should  be  a  process  of  building  up 
the  love  of  the  beautiful  which  the  immigrant  brings. 
It  should  be  a  process  of  building  the  immigrant's  ap- 
preciation of  art  into  the  very  fabric  of  Americanism, 
for  by  so  doing  the  quality  of  Americanism  will  be 
improved. 

Distribution  of  immigrants  is  an  urgent  need.  For 
aliens  to  congregate  in  large  slum  districts  is  tanta- 
mount to  nullifying  the  assimilation  process.  In  con- 
gested districts,  the  immigrants  are  isolated.  There 
the  immigrant  sees  America  at  her  worst,  and  there 
the  American  casts  pitying  if  not  disdainful  eyes  at 
the  immigrant.  Immigrants  resent  being  treated  as  a 
menagerie  of  "lower  brethren  from  below  the  zoolog- 
ical line.'^  Adequate  distribution  is  not  geographic. 
It  is  psychic.  It  will  provide  for  numerous  and  whole- 
some social  contacts  with  Americans.  It  will  give  im- 
migrants daily  contacts  with  the  best  rather  than  with 
the  baneful  phases  of  American  life.  Industrial  ad- 
justments should  accompany  the  proper  distribution  of 
immigrants.  For  many  years,  immigration  has  flooded 
the  already  overcrowded  urban  centers  of  population; 


Social  Phases  257 

but  a  public  policy  of  distribution,  supported  by  edu- 
cational measures,  would  expedite  Americanization. 

Another  essential  of  Americanization  is  that  ade- 
quate American  leadership  among  the  foreign-born 
groups  be  developed.  The  foreign-born  leader  is  the 
strategic  unit.  He  is  an  insider,  and  has  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  his  compatriots.  A  native-born  Ameri- 
canization worker  is  under  the  circumstances  an  out- 
sider. By  the  members  of  a  foreign-born  group,  he 
would  be  regarded  with  a  natural  degree  of  suspicion. 
They  would  likely  oppose  a  direct  program  which  he 
might  wish  to  inaugurate.  They  would  object  to  be- 
ing ''Americanized,"  in  the  same  sense  that  Americans 
in  Italy,  for  example,  would  not  readily  submit  to  an 
'Ttalianization"  program. 

Americanization  must  not  be  direct  and  blunt.  It 
had  better  be  indirect.  It  may  take  place  through  the 
leaders  of  the  foreign-born  groups.  In  fact,  Ameri- 
canization is  a  subjective  process  which  the  immigrant 
himself  must  experience.  He  must  take  a  certain  de- 
gree, or  be  induced  to  take  a  certain  degree,  of  initiative 
himself.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  immigrant  must 
Americanize  himself.  Americanization  must  not  go 
to  him  through  us  as*  social  workers  or  sociologists, 
but  through  us  as  neighbors. 

The  Americanization  movement  must  co-ordinate 
and  augment  the  various  Americanizing  activities  that 
already  have  been  put  into  operation  by  public  and 
private  agencies.  The  work  of  the  public  schools,  the 
settlements,  the  churches,  the  women's  clubs,  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce,  and  all  the  other  agencies  need 
thorough  co-ordination.  Experimental  plans  must  be 
sanely  directed.     Sound  principles  must  be  observed. 


258  Americanization 

Plan,  principles,  and  activities  need  to  be  co-ordinated 
under  governmental  supervision.  Democratic  groups 
among  the  immigrants  need  to  be  organized  so  that 
they  can  get  first-hand  ideas  and  concepts,  of  social 
democracy. 


PROBLEMS 

Explain :   'The  steerage  passenger  is  a  profitable 

animal  to  carry." 
Why  are  the  immigrant's  first  impressions  in  this 

country  often  unfavorable? 
What  is  the  chief  function  of  an  "immigration 

hall"? 

4.  Hov^  would  a  thrift  program  benefit  immigrants  ? 

5.  What  would  be  better  than  old  age  insurance  for 

aged  immigrants? 

Why  is  housing  one  of  the  most  important  Amer- 
icanization factors? 

What  is  the  chief  purpose  of  a  patriotic  society, 
such  as  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion? 

8.  Distinguish,  between  the  American  and  the  South 

European  at  play. 

9.  Why  is  the  social  settlement  unusually  effective 

as  an  Americanization  institution? 

10.  Why  are  many  immigrants  turned  into  beggars 

by  some  of  their  would  be  American  benefac- 
tors? 

11.  How  can  the  churches,  without  proselyting,  be 

strong  Americanization  factors  in  foreign  dis- 
tricts? 


Social  Phases  259 

12.  Why  do  the  arts  thrive  better  in  the  Old  World 

than  in  the  New? 

13.  In  what  ways  can  we  best  utilize  the  artistic  tal- 

ents of  immigrants? 

14.  How   may  a  geographic   distribution   of   immi- 

grants hinder  Americanization? 

15.  Why  is  the  foreign-born  leader  a  highly  import- 

ant force  from  the  standpoint  of  Americaniza- 
tion ? 

16.  If  there  were  no  immigrants  in  the  United  States, 

would   there   be   need   of   an   Americanization 
movement  ? 

17.  What  is  the  chief  cause  of  the  need  for  Ameri- 

canization ? 


Chapter  XIX 
RACIAL   PHASES    OF  AMERICANIZATION 

The  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  World  War 
immediately  demonstrated  that  our  country  was  com- 
posed of  heterog^eneous  races.  The  students  of  imrri- 
gration  had  long  been  saying  that  racial  heterogeneity 
in  the  United  States  was  calling  for  substantial  assim- 
ilation and  amalgamation  measures. 

In  1910,  the  census  figures  showed  clearly  that  the 
population  of  each  of  our  large  cities  was  more  than 
one-third  foreign-born.  The  census  also  showed  that 
the  population  of  these  cities  was  three-fourths  foreign 
in  racial  stock,  that  is,  that  the  foreign-born  together 
with  their  native-born  children  constituted  three- 
fourths  of  these  urban  populations.  Thus,  without  in- 
termarriage or  assimilation,  the  foreign  influence  was 
considerable  in  the  cities,  and  since  the  cities  are  dom- 
inating forces  in  the  nation,  this  influence  was  greater 
than  the  average  citizen  suspected. 

As  early  as  1890,  the  census  revealed  another  im- 
portant racial  tendency.  In  a  city,  such  as  Boston,  the 
birth-rate  and  the  death-rate  of  the  native  stock  were 
about  the  same.  In  fact,  it  appeared  that  the  latter 
was  slightly  higher  than  the  former.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  the  birth-rate  of  the  immigrants,  such  as  the 
Italians,  Irish,  and  Hebrews  far  exceeded  the  death- 
rate  in  each  case.  In  other  words,  while  the  native 
stock  was  at  a  standstill,  the  foreign  stock  was  increas- 
ing rapidly.     Again,  without  intermarriage  or  amal- 


Racial  Phases  261 

gamation,  the  foreign  racial  strains  were  superseding 
the  native  racial  strains,  even  in  the  historic  colonial 
city  of  Boston. 

Eugenics  teaches  the  importance  of  racial  lineage. 
Within  limits,  blood  does  tell.  Superior  races  are  de- 
veloped only  through  the  slow  processes  of  time  and 
environment.  With  a  proper  environment,  the  races 
of  Southern  Europe,  undoubtedly,  can  prove  them- 
selves duly  capable  in  the  United  States  and  ultimately 
produce  superior  stock.  A  suitable  environment  can 
overcome,  in  time,  the  handicaps  of  undeveloped  racial 
•fibre.  But  why  not  conserve  superior  stock,  rather  than 
carelessly  throw  it  away,  and  resort  to  the  slow  pro- 
cedure of  developing  new  race  strains?  Why  not  do 
both  things  rather  than  follow  the  latter  formula 
chiefly  ? 

It  was  General  Francis  A.  Walker  who  argued 
strongly  that  the  native  birth-rate  began  to  decline  in 
the  Thirties  and  Forties  of  the  last  century,  when 
immigration  to  this  country  became  noticeable.  It  was 
Walker's  contention  that  the  influx  of  immigrants  in 
itself  was  the  chief  factor  that  cut  down  the  native 
birth-rate.  He  also  held  that  if  immigrants  had  not 
come,  the  native  biiTh-rate  would  have  stayed  up. 
These  assumptions  have  strong  support.  They  are 
partly  true.  But  the  main  causes  of  a  declining  bu'th- 
rate  in  this  country  are  undoubtedly  other  than  those 
advanced  by  Walker.  The  feminist  movement,  a  love 
of  luxury,  city  life,  foresight,  and  so  forth,  are  causes 
which  in  part  answer  Walker's  unfair  charge  against 
immigration. 

Another  important  racial  theory  of  sociological  im- 
portance that  should  be  considered  in  connection  with 


2.62  Americanization 

Americanization  has  been  advanced  by  Professor  Franz 
Boas.  It  is  the  contention,  startling  as  it  may  seem, 
that  even  the  physical  form  of  a  child  of  immigrants 
tends  to  conform  somewhat  to  the  racial  types  of  the 
adopted  country  and  to  be  influenced  in  racial  physiog- 
nomy by  the  environmental  conditions  of  the  new 
home.  In  other  words,  the  children  of  round-headed 
immigrant  parents  tend  to  become  long-headed,  if  born 
in  the  United  States.  Dr.  Boas  concludes  that  environ- 
ment has  an  important  effect  upon  the  anatomical 
structure  and  physiological  functions  of  man.  Hence, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  environment  in  the  United 
States  is  helping  to  produce  a  more  or  less  uniform 
racial  type. 

Another  important  racial  theory  that  has  been  ad- 
vanced by  Dr.  Boaz  and  other  leading  representatives 
of  ethnological  science  is  that  all  races  are  potentially 
equal.  The  general  theory  is  that  present  racial  differ- 
ences are  largely  due  to  differences  in  physical  en- 
vironment, and  cultural  history,  and  that  if  given 
the  same  situation  and  advantages  for  a  length  of 
time,  the  backward  races  of  the  w^orld  would  come 
up  to  the  level  of  the  advanced  races.  According 
to  this  interpretation,  real  racial  differences  are  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  find.  These  differences  are 
largely  confined  to  superficial  factors,  such  as  slant 
of  the  eye,  skin  color,  shape  of  shin  bone,  or  height. 
The  discussion  regarding  this  theory  is  going  on.  The 
affirmative  evidence  is  steadily  increasing.  If  the  prin- 
ciple of  potential  equality  of  races  should  be  estab- 
lished, then  the  problem  of  building  a  unified  race  out 
of  the  many  heterogeneous  races  in  the  country  will 
be  greatly  simplified.     - 


Racial  Phases  263 

The  question  of  intermixture  of  races  brings  up  the 
problem  of  intermarriage.  3iologically,  it  may  be  con- 
tended that  there  is  essentially  no  objection  to  the  in- 
termarriage of  the  representatives  of  any  races  in  the 
United  States.  The  French  and  English  are  both 
mixed  races  in  the  sense  that  each  is  an  intermixture 
of  several  races.  The  Scotch-Irish,  one  of  the  most 
virile  races  in  the  United  States,  is  a  compound  of  at 
least  seven  races,  in  part  of  barbarous  origin.  Nature, 
apparently,  supports  the  intermixture  of  races. 

Blue-blood  races,  as  a  result  of  excessive  inbreeding, 
tend  to  degenerate,  unless  there  is  considerable  infu- 
sion of  outside  elements.  To. the  other  extreme,  mis- 
cegenation of  races  which  are  widely  apart  on  the  scale 
of  civilization  is  likely  to  result  in  an  undue  percentage 
of  abnormal,  and  particularly,  of  subnormal  individ- 
uals. But  intermarriage  of  the  members  of  races 
somewhat  related  is  a  safe  norm  to  endorse. 

The  intermarriage  of  races  pre-supposes  a  minimum 
of  race  prejudice.  Without  overcoming  race  prejudice, 
the  individuals  of  different  races  will  not  intermarry. 
Racial  admixture,  however,  will  take  place  through 
illicit  sex  relations.  These  relationships  occur  usually 
through  the  actions  oHihe  men  of  the  higher  race  and 
the  women  of  the  lower  race.  Vice  and  crime  are  the 
concomitant  factors.  All  races  in  the  United  States 
manifest  a  more  or  less  similar  percentage  of  illigit- 
imacy.  The  problem,  as  far  as  Americanization  is 
concerned,  relates  to  natives  as  well  as  to  immigrants, 
and  calls  for  a  change  in  social  attitudes  that  will  run 
uniformly  through  the  lowest  normal  classes,  whether 
wealthy  or  poor. 

Race  prejudice  is  the  subtlest  enemy  of  Americani- 


264  Americanization 

zation.  It  is  deep-seated  and  emotional.  It  is  largely 
acquired  by  each  individual  through  the  teachings 
which  he  receives  or  his  experiences.  Its  greatest  ene- 
my is  education  concerning  the  backgrounds  of  immi- 
grants, their  attitudes,  their  best  qualities.  It  is  now 
a  truism  that  the  members  of  all  races  are  on.  a  par  — 
when  at  their  best  and  at  their  worst.  Individuals  must 
be  trained  to  refrain  from  generalization  regarding  a 
race  simply  upon  having  suffered  a  wrong  at  the  hands 
of  two  or  three  members  of  that  race.  Journalists  must 
learn  to  be  fair-minded  in  their  statements  concerning 
races.  Only  a  knowledge  of  the  life  and  problems  of 
races  can  overcome  race  prejudice.^  Only  the  over- 
coming of  race  prejudice  can  accomplish  real  Ameri- 
canization work. 

The  practical  operation  of  race  prejudice  in  the 
United  States  is  admirably  illustrated  by  the  statement 
of  a  Slavic  immigrant.  "I  am  an  American  citizen  of 
several  years  standing;  I  have  my  own  home,  I  have 
an  automobile;  I  cultivate  a  little  bit  of  land,  but  the 
women  in  my  section  will  not  talk  to  my  wife,  and 
when  they  go  on  the  street  they  call  me  'Hunkie.'  " 

Race  prejudice  leads  to  race  cliquishness  —  both 
ways.  Natives  are  cliquish;  immigrants  form  racial 
colonies.  Consequently,  race  prejudice  leads  to  race 
isolation.  This  in  turn  creates  misunderstanding  and 
friction.  Perhaps  the  greatest  piece  of  work  that  lies 
before  the  United  States,  viewed  in  the  light  of  Ameri- 
canization, is  the  undermining  of  race  prejudice.  This 
task  demands  infinite  patience,  psychological  insight, 
and  social  vision. 

'^The  subject  of  race  prejudice  as  a  socio-psychological  phenomenon 
is  treated  in  the  writer's  Essentials  of  Social  Psychology,  ch.  XII. 


Racial  Phases  265 

The  biological  phases  of  Americanization  are  in- 
cluded under  the  term,  amalgamation.  There  is  much 
careless  confusing  of  the  concepts,  assimilation  and 
amalgamation.  Asssimilation  refers  to  a  uniting  of 
minds  or  attitudes  into  a  common  view  of  life.  It  is 
a  psychological  process  which  may  be  furthered  by 
educational  means. 

Amalgamation  is  a  biological  process.  It  is  a  unit- 
ing of  racial  traits  or  of  family  traits.  It  occurs  only 
through  intermarriage  or  illigitimate  sex  relationships. 
It  cannot  be  forced.  It  requires  time.  It  is  a  process 
of  the  centuries,  whereas  assimilation  normally  may 
take  place  in  a  generation  or  less.  Amalgamation  rests 
upon  assimilation.  Unless  an  assimilation  of  minds 
occurs,  then  amalgamation  is  neither  feasible  nor  ad- 
visable. Amalgamation  should  not  take  place  between 
individuals  of  widely  different  races  —  for  sound  social 
reasons.  The  viewpoints  of  the  contracting  parties,  by 
virtue  of  different  cultural  backgrounds,  are  likely  to 
lead  to  such  a  degree  of  strained  relationships  that  the 
marriage  relationship  fails. 

Where  assimilation  has  taken  place,  or  where  there 
is  a  common  basis  of  life,  the  problems  of  amalgama- 
tion disappear.  If  these  conditions  do  not  obtain,  or  if 
race  prejudice  is  active,  amalgamation  is  difficult.  The 
whole  matter  hinges  on  assimilation,  which  is  an  edu- 
cational problem  and  which  will  be  treated  after  the 
political  phases  of  Americanization  have  been  consid- 
ered. In  summary,  it  may  be  said  that  without  assimi- 
lation, it  is  impractical  to  discuss  amalgamation,  but 
that  with  assimilation  nearly  all  the  problems  of  amal- 
gamation are  dissolved. 


266  Americanization 

PROBLEMS 

1.  What  is  a  race? 

2.  Distinguish  between  race  and  nationaUty. 

3.  Why  is  a  knowledge  of  ethnology  necessary  for 

doing  Americanization  work? 

5.  What  is  the  main  reason  for  thinking,  as  General 

Walker  did,  that  immigration  caused  the  de- 
cline in  the  native  birth-rate? 

6.  Do  you  think  that  all  races  are  potentially  more 

or  less  equal  ? 

7.  Is  the  United  States  justified  in  excluding  entire 

races  ? 

8.  What  is  the  best  w^ay  to  undermine  race  preju- 

dice? 

9.  What  is  the  difference  between  race  prejudice  and 

race  pride  ? 

10.  Explain :  Race  prejudice  isolates  both  ways. 

11.  Do  newspapers,  in  general,  further  or  check  race 

prejudice? 

12.  Which  is  more  important,  assimilation  or  amal- 

gamation ? 


Chapter  XX 

POLITICAL  PHASES  OF  AMERICANIZATION 

The  problem  of  political  assimilation  has  steadily 
grown  since  1885.  Preceding  that  date,  the  majority 
of  our  foreign-born  peoples  had  migrated  from  Nor- 
thern and  Western  Europe  where  democracy  was  a 
common  word  and  where  democratic  government  was 
becoming  a  reality.  Since  1885,  the  majority  of  the 
immigrants  have  come  from  countries  where  political 
democracy  is  not  a  common  concept,  and  where  the 
peasant  peoples  have  had  very  little  experience  in 
making  their  own  laws  and  obeying  them.  In  addi- 
tion, the  immigrants  who  have  arrived  since  1885  have 
migrated  from  countries  where  illiteracy  is  common, 
and  where  educational  advantages  for  the  masses  are 
still  rare.  Many  immigrants  have  suffered  greatly 
from  autocratic  government  and  economic  spoliation. 
Hence,  they  bring  a  fear  of  government  and  economic 
oppression  without  beiijg  in  a  position  readily  to  un- 
derstand democracy  or  to  help  work  out  the  concept. 

The  immigration  laws  of  a  nation  represent  that  na- 
tion's crystallized  reactions  to  the  immigrant.  In  co- 
lonial days,  several  colonies  passed  immigration  laws 
for  self-protection.  During  the  early  years  of  the  Re- 
public, the  individual  states  rather  than  the  Federal 
Government  took  charge  of  immigration  regulations. 

In  1798,  the  Alien  Bill  was  passed,  establishing  the 


268  Americanization 

right  of  deportation.  This  right  has  become  of  in- 
creasing importance  in  recent  years. 

In  1820,  manifests  were  required  of  ship-owners. 
The  number  of  immigrants  which  a  ship  might  bring 
was  limited  and  the  amount  of  food  which  must  be 
carried  for  each  passenger  was  stipulated.  Thus,  im- 
migration figures  were  made  available  for  the  first 
time. 

The  native  American  movement  assumed  political 
importance  about  1835.  It  was  directed  primarily 
against  the  Catholic  immigrants  from  Ireland.  It  in- 
cluded provisions  for  limiting  political  offices  to  natives, 
and  for  denying  citizenship  to  immigrants. 

In  1838,  seven  members  of  Congress  were  appointed 
to  investigate  the  question  of  pauper  immigration.  The 
recommendations  of  that  first  immigration  commission 
included  a  head  tax  of  twenty  dollars  an  immigrant  and 
a  consular  passport.  No  action  was  taken  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  although  various  laws  were  passed 
by  the  states  as  a  protection  against  the  paupers  who 
were  being  sent  to  our  country,  chiefly  by  British  au- 
thorities. 

The  Native  American  Movement  acquired  new  mo- 
mentum about  1850,  because  of  the  large  immigration 
from  Ireland  and  Germany.  The  slogan  was :  Amer- 
ica for  Americans.  Nativist  propaganda  died  out, 
however,  before  the  rising  tide  of  anti-slavery  agita- 
tion, which  monopolized  attention. 

Congress  passed  a  law  in  1864  to  encourage  immi- 
gration. Contract  labor  was  favored,  and  several  com- 
panies were  organized  to  deal  in  contract  labor.  The 
law,  however,  was  repealed  in  1868.  In  1875,  Con- 
gress passed   an  act  prohibiting  the  immigration  of 


Political  Phases  269 

criminals,  women  for  immoral  purposes,  and  contract 
coolie  labor.  In  the  following  year  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  declared  unconstitutional  the  efforts  of 
states  to  regulate  immigration  and  placed  the  power 
in  the  hands  of  Congress. 

A  general  federal  law  was  adopted  in  1882.  A  head 
tax  of  fifty  cents  per  immigrant  was  included  in  the 
law,  and  the  administration  of  the  law  was  placed  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Treasury  Department.  In  1889, 
a  second  Congressional  committee  on  immigration  was 
appointed.  The  head  tax  was  made  one  dollar  in 
1894,  and  two  dollars  in  1903.  An  educational  test 
for  admission  was  passed  by  Congress  in  1896,  but 
vetoed  by  President  Cleveland.  * 

The  Bureau  of  Immigration  was  put,  in  1903,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  La- 
bor, and  in  1907  in  the  hands  of  the  Department  of 
Labor.  In  the  latter  year  the  head  tax  was  made  four 
dollars;  and  in  191 7,  eight  dollars.  The  income  from 
the  head  tax  is  used  in  the  maintenance  of  the  immi- 
gration service.  The  surplus  goes  into  the  general 
funds  of  the  Treasury  Department.  Since  the  immi- 
grants pay  the  head  tax,  it  would  seem  that  the  entire 
amount  should  be  exptnded  in  immigration  work.  In 
fact,  it  might  be  argued  that  for  every  dollar  which 
the  alien  immigrant  pays  in  the  form  of  head  taxes, 
the  United  States  should  be  willing  to  contribute  an 
equal  amount,  and  that  the  entire  sum  should  be  used 
in  sound  Americanization  activities. 

The  immigration  law  of  191 7  named  about  thirty 
classes  of  undesirable  immigrants,  and  provided  for 
their  exclusion.  These  classes  included  paupers,  men- 
tal defectives,  polygamists,  the  tubercular,  anarchists. 


270  Americanization 

prostitutes,  procurers,  contract  laborers,  illiterates,  and 
persons  from  a  barred  geographic  zone. 

The  immigration  law  brings  forward  four  pertinent 
questions :  ( i)  Is  the  literary  test  sound?  (2)  Is  the 
barred  zone  legislation  correct?  (3)  Should  there  be 
more,  or  less  restriction  of  immigration  than  now?  (4) 
Is  the  fundamental  basis  of  the  immigration  law 
scientific  ? 

( 1 )  In  the  rough,  the  literary  test  works  fairly 
well,  for  it  debars  those  who  are  most  likely  to  be  ex- 
ploited, to  suffer  industrial  accidents,  to  earn  less  than 
a  living  wage,  to  fall  into  a  state  of  poverty,  and  to 
remain  unassimilated.^  On  the  other  hand,  the  literary 
test  is  not  a  criterion  of  personal  worth,  of  potential 
ability,  or  of  ultimate  capacity  for  Americanization. 
It  is  a  test,  primarily,  of  lack  of  educational  opportu- 
nities in  the  given  European,  province  from  which  the 
alien  comes.  .  It  acts  as  a  penalty  for  not  having  had 
educational  advantages,  but  serves,  however,  as  a  stim- 
ulus to  learn  to  read  slightly.  The  objections  are  so 
vital  that  it  seems  that  more  scientific  tests  of  admis- 
sion should  be  substituted  for  the  mere  ability  to  read. 
Educational  psychologists  have  prepared  standardized 
tests  for  determining  the  individual's  mental  ability 
and  his  potential  possibilities.  As  soon  as  these  tests 
become  perfected  and  modified  so  that  they  may  be 
applied  readily  and  reliably  to  large  numbers  of  indi- 
viduals, they  should  be  substituted  for  the  crude  literary 
test. 

(2)  The  barred  zone  is  a  region  in  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere,  designated  in  terms  of  latitude  and  lon- 
gitude.    Geographically  and  politically,  it  includes  In- 


Political  Phases  271 

dia,  Siam,  Indo-China,  parts  of  Siberia,  Afghanistan, 
and  Arabia,  and  island  territories  such  as  Borneo,  Java, 
Sumatra,  New  Guinea.  A  population  of  about  500,- 
000,000  is  included  in  the  barred  zone.  As  a  tempo- 
rary expedient,  this  method  of  immigrant  prohibition 
works  well.  It  serves  the  purpose  for  which  it  is 
intended.  Ultimately  and  socially,  it  is  unsatisfactory. 
Its  implications  are  undemocratic,  unsocial,  and  un- 
American.  A  better  method  than  passing  adverse 
judg-ment  on  peoples  in  a  wholesale  geographic  way 
would  be  to  set  our  standards  high  for  admission  on 
individuality,  potentiality,  and  assimilability  grounds. 

(3)  The  principle  of  restriction  of  immigration  is 
correct.  The  time  came  several  decades  ago  when 
we  could  not  admit  all  who  wished  to  immigrate.  We 
have  so  many  poor  people  in  the  United  States  that 
we  cannot  longer  invite  the  economically  defeated 
classes  of  other  countries.  We  have  so  many  undem- 
ocratic features  in  our  industrial  system  that  immi- 
grants and  natives  are  sometimes  oppressed  in  our 
land,  and  embittered.  Consequently,  we  are  no  longer 
able  freely  to  extend  the  hand  of  welcome  to  the  un- 
fortunate peoples  of  the  world. 

(4)  The  underlying  principle  of  the  immigration 
law^  is  unscientific  and  negative.  In  particular,  it  con- 
tains about  thirty  "Thou  shalt  nots,"  or  prohibits  about 
thirty  classes  of  peoples  from  entering.  A  more  con- 
structive procedure  would  be  to  designate  who  are 
desirable  immigrants.  This  principle  has  been  observed 
in  the  Canadian  immigration  law.  The  principle  is 
positive,  selective,  and  social,  rather  than  negative, 
suppressive,  and  unsocial.  It  gains  the  same  ends  as 
the  present  method,  but  by  superior  methods. 


2'j2  Americanization 

In  general,  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the 
United  States  should  be  made  upon  the  basis  of  the 
needs  of  our  country,  the  potential  worth  and  poten- 
tial ability  of  the  immigrant,  and  international  good 
will  and  democracy.  Consideration  must  also  be  given 
to  the  opportunities  and  possibilities  of  becoming  as- 
similated readily  and  of  becoming  Americanized.  The 
test  of  assimilation  appears  to  be  sound.  We  can  open 
our  gates  only  to  that  number  annually  which  we  can 
assimilate  and  Americanize  —  otherwise  Americanism 
will  be  subject  to  disintegration.  If  there  are,  for  ex- 
ample, i,ooo,cxx)  Italian  immigrants  here  and  none  are 
assimilated,  then  we  cannot  afford  to  admit  others. 
But  if  all  this  number  are  assimilated  then  we  shall 
be  able  to  Americanize  annually  a  certain  percentage, 
ranging  from  perhaps  five  to  fifteen  per  cent  of  this 
number,  or  100,000  new  immigrants  per  annum  from 
Italy.  This  proposition  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  an 
immigrant  always  comes  to  his  own  racial  group.  If 
the  members  of  this  group  are  not  Americanized,  the 
new  immigrant's  chances  in  that  direction  are  slim; 
but  if  they  have  become  true  Americans,  he  will  not  be 
long  in  catching  the  spirit. 

Our  naturalization  law  dates  back  to  1790.  At  that 
time  Congress  used  its  constitutional  privilege  and  pro- 
vided for  the  naturalization  of  aliens.  The  naturaHza- 
tion  period  was  made  two  years.  This  term  was 
changed  to  fourteen  years  in  1795,  and  to  its  present 
length  of  five  years  in  1802. 

In  1790,  citizenship  was  extended  to  any  alien  who 
is  a  free  white  person,  providing  he  can  otherwise  qual- 
ify. In  1870,  naturalization  was  opened  to  persons 
of  African  nativity  and  of  African  descent.     In  other 


Political  Phases  273 

words  citizenship  has  been  extended  to  Caucasians  and 
Africans,  but  not  to  other  peoples.  It  is  open  to  the 
white  and  black  races,  but  not  to  persons  of  the  inter- 
mediate colors. 

The  five  years  preceding  naturalization  are  often  not 
a  period  of  real  preparation  for  citizenship.  Often- 
times, the  immigrant  lives  and  works  under  destruc- 
tive conditions,  struggles  ultimately  through  the  natur- 
alization process,  submitting  to  a  "dry-as-dust  cate- 
chism" on  the  Constitution,  and  becomes  a  citizen 
without  proper  fixation  of  American  principles  and  at- 
tachments. 

There  is  need  that  the  content  of  naturalization  be 
improved  and  that  some  of  the  hardships  which  are 
imposed  by  the  emphasis  on  forms  be  removed.  It  is 
often  necessary  that  the  immigrant  appear  in  court 
twice  in  getting  his  papers  of  intention  and  twice  in 
getting  the  final  documents.  Both  times,  in  the  latter 
case,  he  must  have  the  same  two  witnesses.  The  loss 
of  wages  to  himself  and  his  witnesses  is  a  significant 
matter.  Wages  ought  not  to  be  cut  off  when  the  em- 
ployee is  absent  for  purposes  of  becoming  a  citizen. 
Some  courts  hold  night  sessions  for  the  benefit  of  the 
immigrant  —  a  method  which  should  be  extended. 
Likewise,  the  bureaus  of  naturalization  might  well  hold 
night  sessions.  The  plan,  also,  is  excellent  whereby 
aliens  may  file  their  naturalization  papefs  in  the  indus- 
trial plants  where  they  work. 

The  diploma  plan,  such  as  that  developed  by  C.  C. 
Kelso  of  Los  Angeles,  provides  for  a  three  months 
night  school  course  of  training  for  citizenship.  The 
diploma  from  this  course  is  accepted  by  the  naturaliza- 
tion judge  in  lieu  of  the  usual  more  or  less  formal 


2/4  Americanization 

examination.  The  training  course  for  the  immigrant 
gives  a  heart  and  content  to  citizenship. 

Our  standards  for  admission  should  be  made  higher 
and  more  scientific  than  at  present.  Then,  we  should 
open  citizenship  to  all  within  the  country,  irrespective 
of  race  and  color,  to  all  who  can  meet  the  naturaliza- 
tion requirements,  which,  in  turn,  should  be  raised  in 
content,  but  lowered  in  form.  It  is  clearly  unwise  to 
admit  immigrants  to  the  country  and  then  prevent  them 
from  becoming  citizens  and  from  assuming  full  respon- 
sibility in  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 

Upon  entry  into  the  country  aliens  should  register, 
and  keep  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  informed  of 
changes  in  address.  Aliens  who  are  intending  to  live 
in  this  country  should  be  invited  and  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  become  citizens.  By  the  use  of  factory 
classes,  night  classes,  and  home  or  cottage  classes,  the 
immigrant  of  either  sex  can  steadily  proceed  on  the 
road  to  assimilation  and  citizenship.  Those  who  re- 
fuse to  meet  these  requirements  might  be  subject  to 
deportation. 

Upon  receiving  his  naturalization  papers,  the  immi- 
grant should  be  made  to  swell  with  pride  and  to  vow 
to  himself  to  contribute  something  worth  while  to 
American  ideals  and  practices.  The  Americanization 
Day  plan  may  well  be  extended  and  standardized.  Ac- 
cording to  this  method  which  was  first  developed  in 
19 14,  one  day  of  the  year,  usually  the  Fourth  of  July, 
is  designated  as  Americanization  Day.  All  persons  who 
have  become  citizens  within  the  preceding  twelve 
months  and  who  live  in  the  given  community  are  in- 
vited to  come  together  at  a  public  meeting,  where  lead- 
ing native  citizens  extend  the  right  hand  of  American 


Political  Phases  275 

fellowship  to  them,  where  speeches  of  a  patriotic  na- 
ture are  given  by  both  old  and  new  citizens,  where 
all  join  in  patriotic  singing,  and  where  the  new  citizens 
are  made  to  feel  the  virile  pulsations  of  the  heart  of 
America. 

Americanization  Day  ceremonials  give  a  new  and 
wholesome  content  to  our  hitherto  often  meaningless 
and  noisy  Fourth  of  July  celebrations.  They  have  been 
successfully  conducted  in  many  American  cities.  It 
has  been  well  suggested  that  the  native-born  who  have 
reached  the  voting  age  during  the  twelve  months  pre- 
ceding the  Americanization  Day  should  join  in  the 
exercises. 

Our  unscientific  methods  are  shown  in  the  way  in 
which  suffrage  was  granted  to  the  women  of  New 
York  in  191 7.  There  were  over  200,000  women  in 
that  state  who  wfere  made  citizens  merely  because 
their  husbands  were  naturalized.  Practically  none  of 
these  women  had  received  any  training  for  citizenship. 
At  least  100,000  of  the  new  women  citizens  did  not 
speak  English.  Many  were  unable  to  read  and  write. 
Very  few  were  fitted  to  vote  on  national  issues.  The 
rational  process  of  preparing  persons  to  exercise  the 
privileges  of  suffrage  was  ignored.  A  foreign-born 
woman  should  become  an  American  citizen  in  her  own 
thoughts  and  ideals,  and  not  simply  by  marrying  a 
man  who  is  an  American. 

To  further  and  supplement  the  work  of  the  national 
government  in  the  matter  of  political  assimilation,  sev- 
eral states  have  created  immigration  commissions,  no- 
tably, Massachusetts  and  California.  The  California 
State  Commission  of  Immigration  and  Housing,  estab- 
lished   in    19 1 3,    has    done    splendid   Americanization 


276  Americanization    , 

work  in  several  fields.  It  had  no  definite  precedents 
to  follow;  it  was  an  experiment  new  in  itself.  Its  fun- 
damental principle  is  that  an  alien  should  not  be  asked 
to  become  a  good  American,  by  becoming  worthy  of 
his  surroundings  until  those  surroundings  should  be 
made  worthy  of  a  good  American.  The  Commission 
has  established  a  Bureau  of  Complaints,  a  Bureau  of 
Labor  Camp  Inspection,  a  Bureau  of  Housing,  a  Bu- 
reau of  Immigrant  Education. 

The  Federal  Government  has  the  Bureau  of  Immi- 
gration, the  Bureau  of  Naturalization,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Education,  each  with  its  Americanization  activities. 
In  addition  to  performing  supervisory  and  executive 
work,  the  Federal  Bureaus  are  publishing  valuable  doc- 
uments on  various  phases  of  Americanization. 

Another  important  political  phase  of  Americaniza- 
tion is  found  in  the  community  orgarfization  movement. 
"A  man  learns  to  be  a  good  citizen  by  being  a  good 
citizen."  Therefore,  neighborhood  organizations  are 
politically  and  socially  valuable  for  they  provide  the 
immigrant  with  opportunities  to  participate  in  a  dem- 
ocratic organization  before  he  becomes  a  citizen.  By 
organizing,  and  participating  in,  democratic  commu- 
munity  groups,  the  foreign-born  peoples  in  immi- 
grant districts  may  train  themselves  in  democracy  and 
catch  the  "feel"  of  a  democratic  conscience.  They  may 
acquire  sound  concepts  of  democracy  and  they  may 
learn  to  live  democratically  —  which  is  the  essence  of 
political  Americanization. 


Political  Phases  277 

PROBLEMS 

1.  Define  an  alien. 

2.  What  is  the  main  objection  to  a  head  tax? 

3.  In  what  way  is  a  barred  zone  for  immigration 

undemocratic? 

4.  What  is  your  attitude  toward  the  Hteracy  test? 

5.  What  is  the  main  reason  for  admitting  immi- 

grants to  the  United  States? 

6.  Wherein  hes  the  strength  of  the  diploma  plan  of 

naturalization  ? 

7.  In  what  permanent  way  is  American  opinion  ex- 

pressed toward  the  immigrant? 

8.  What  is  the  basic  problem  in  the  relation  of  re- 

cent immigration  to  democratic  government? 

9.  May  an  unnaturalized  alien  vote  for  president  of 

the  United  States  ? 

10.  What  is  the  chief  weakness  of  the  naturalization 

law? 

11.  Why  was  immigration  legislation  removed  from 

the  jurisdiction  of  the  individual  states? 

12.  Does  Americanization  in  any  sense  mean  dena- 

tionalization to  the  immigrant? 

13.  Contrast  Americanization  with  Prussianization. . 

14.  What  is  the  chief  significance  of  Americanization 

Day? 

15.  Wherein  is  the  merit  of  community  organization 

as  a  phase  of  political  Americanization? 

16.  Until  immigrants  are  naturalized,  are  they  the 

guests  of  the  nation? 


Chapter  XXI 

EDUCATIONAL  PHASES  OF  AMERICAN- 
IZATION 

Tlie  educational  phases  of  Americanization  arise  out 
of  ignorance  and  illiteracy.  First  of  all,  native  Ameri- 
icans  are  ignorant  of  the  full  meaning  of  Americanism. 
They  are  not  agreed  regarding  the  nature  of  American 
ideals.  There  are  many  native  Americans  who  are  not 
Americanized  in  the  constructive  sense  of  the  term. 
Others  have  never  put  genuine  Americanism  into 
Americanization. 

Native  Americans  are  often  ignorant  of  the  cultures, 
traditions,  and  ideals  which  the  immigrants  bring. 
They  are  unversed  in  the  best  Americanization  tech- 
nique. They  are  prone  to  censure  or  condemn  the 
immigrant  without  first  finding  out  what  is  in  the  im- 
migrant's backgrounds.  They  fail  too  frequently  in 
living  the  principles  of  democracy  in  their  daily  con- 
tacts with  the  immigrant. 

In  a  Federal  Department  of  Education,  the  Bureau 
of  Americanization  should  become  the  most  important 
division.  One  of  the  first  tasks  of  a  Bureau  of  Ameri- 
canization is  to  make  a  careful  survey  of  the  history 
and  nature  of  Americanism.  The  constructive  prin- 
ciples thus  far  worked  out  in  American  history  must 
be  determined,  the  character  of  present-day  American 
ideals  must  be  analyzed,  and  the  positive  and  best  ten- 
dencies conserved  and  promulgated.  The  Lfciited 
States  must  consciously  plan  her  progress,  on  the  basis 


Educational  Phases  2/C} 

of  past  and  present  experiences  and  future  outlook, 
along  democratic  and  socialized  lines.  And  as  every 
practical  business  man  projects  his  business  policy  into 
the  future,  so  may  American  standards  —  in  the  light 
of  world  needs  —  be  projected  and  followed  up. 

To  these  eiids,  we  need  continuously  to  educate  our- 
selves. The  public  schools,  the  churches,  the  press, 
and  motion  pictures  are  the  leading  media  for  carrying 
the  details  of  sound  Americanism  to  the  people.  Amer- 
icanization must  begin  with  the  average  American.  The 
rank  and  file  of  the  native-born  are  inadequately  versed 
in  the  meaning  of  our  ideals  of  liberty,  union,  democ- 
racy, and  brotherhood.  The  teaching  of  American 
history  needs  to  set  forth  the  evolving  principles  of 
democratic  American  life.  The  study  of  American  lit- 
erature may  well  be  made  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
principles  of  democracy  and  required  of  every  public 
school  pupil.  American  literature  is  an  excellent  mir- 
ror of  the  rise  and  growth  of  our  national  life.  The 
entire  country  may  well  study  American  ideals  as  set 
forth  all  the  way  from  Captain  John  Smith  to  Presi- 
dents Roosevelt  and  Wilson. 

Our  whole  system  of  public  and  private  instruction 
needs  to  be  permeated^vith  such  corollaries  of  democ- 
racy as  these: 

1.  The  sacredness  of  sound  family  life. 

2.  Private  gain  only  when  in  harmony  with 

public  welfare. 

3.  The  social  necessity  of  honesty  and  purity 

in  thought  and  action. 

4.  The  wholesomeness  of  spiritual  idealism 

and  esthetic  realism. 


2  8o  A  mericanization 

5.  The  superiority  of  quality  to  quantity  and 

and  of  thoroughness  to  speed. 

6.  The  operation  of  justice  and  love  between 

individuals. 

7.  The  richest  development  possible  of  per- 

sonalities. 

8.  The  potential  equality  of  races. 

9.  The  harmfulness  and  hatefulness  of  race 

prejudice. 
10.     The  subordination  of  the  individual  and 
the  family  to  public  needs,  and  of  the 
nation  to  world  needs. 

Americanization  means  doing  democracy.  It  means 
that  native  Americans  should  do  democracy  in.  their 
relationships  with  one  another.  It  means  that  they 
should  do  democracy  In  their  private  and  public  con- 
nections with  the  Indian,  with  the  Negro,  and  with 
the  mountaineer.  It  means  that  they  should  do  democ- 
racy in  all  their  associations  with  the  immigrants. 

The  need  for  Americanization  arises,  in  part,  from 
the  ignorance  and  illiteracy  of  the  foreign-born.  The 
illiteracy  of  certain  immigrants  has  been  high,  for 
example,  the  Portuguese,  South  Italians,  Turks,  Syr- 
ians, Ruthenians  have  shown  an  illiteracy  of  about  50 
per  cent.  The  illiteracy  of  other  immigrants,  such  as 
the  Lithuanians,  Serbians,  Russians,  Poles,  Greeks  has 
been  over  25  per  cent.  In  a  single  year  as  many  as 
200,000  illiterate  aliens  have  entered  our  country.  But 
illiteracy  is  almost  as  great  a  problem  among  the  na- 
tive-born as  among  immigrants.  We  have  literally 
millions  of  illiterate  persons  in  the  country  who  cannot 
read  or  write. 


Educational  Phases  281 

Illiteracy  is  a  sign.  It  signifies  a  low  economic 
status.  It  implies  prejudices.  It  means  a  lack  of  ap- 
preciation of  democracy.  It  brings  on  exploitation.  It 
is  a  basis  for  radicalism.  It  breeds  diseases.  It  creates 
the  need  for  education  and  Americanization  —  on  the 
part  of  both  immigrants  and  natives. 

An  elaborate  but  uncorrected  technique  for  meeting 
the  educational  needs,  particularly  of  immigrants,  but 
also  of  natives,  is  in  process  of  development  in  the 
United  States.  The  basic  element  is  the  teaching  of 
English.  The  English  to  non-English  speaking  peo- 
ples movement  has  acquired  considerable  momentum. 
Unfortunately,  many  persons  believe  that  teaching 
English  is  the  main  phase  of  Americanization.  But  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  English  language  sim- 
ply prepares  for  Americanization.  If  an  immigrant 
learns  English  but  in  the  meantime  is  exploited  by 
native  Americans,  he  will  not  learn  to  love  America. 

Furthermore,  to  suppress  the  use  of  all  languages  in 
the  United  States  except  the  English  will  hinder  rather 
than  help  Americanization.  When  you  strike  at  the 
language  of  a  person,  you  strike  at  his  feelings,  his 
mother  tongue,  his  childhood  memories.  The  import- 
ance of  English  cannot  be  made  loo  manifest.  The 
value  of  English  should  be  made  so  clear  that  all  who 
do  not  know  it  should  be  stimulated  to  want  to  learn 
it.  Then,  the  use  of  other  languages  will  tend  to  de- 
crease. 

The  use  of  the  English  language  cannot  be  made 
compulsory,  and  foreign  languages  cannot  be  easily  sup- 
pressed. Prussia  attempted  to  make  common  the  Ger- 
man language,  and  to  suppress  the  Polish  language, 
but  in  so  doing  created  4,000,000  belligerent  Polish 


282  Atnvricanhation 

subjects.  Russia  attempted  similar  arbitrary  meas- 
ures, and  created  10,000,000  outlaws.  Hungary  in- 
sisted that  the  Slovaks  speak  only  the  Magyar  lan- 
guage, and  turned  her  Slovak  subjects  into  enemies. 
Let  Americanization,  beware  of  the  evils  of  Prussian- 
ization,  Russianization,  and  Magyarization. 

We  may  even  learn  to  consider  the  foreign  languages 
of  immigrants  as  valuable  assets.  They  are  open  ses- 
ames to  the  vast  and  varied  cultures  of  the  world. 
America  should  utilize  these  important  factors  of  en- 
lightenment. A  nation  whose  people  speak  but  one 
language  is  narrow.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  a 
nation  that  has  all  the  languages  of  the  world  brought 
to  it,  and  then  suppresses  them?  Shall  we  spend  mil- 
lions of  dollars  annually  in  teaching  foreign  languages, 
and  then  turn  about  and  attempt  to  suppress  these 
languages  when  brought  to  us? 

"English  First,"  is  a  logical  slogan.  The  proofs 
are  manifold.  A  common,  medium  of  communication 
is  essential  to  the  development  of  unity  in  and  loyalty 
to  the  nation.  The  learning  of  English,  however,  can- 
not be  forced.  It  can  be  furthered  best  through  per- 
suasion and  conviction.  Educators  are  agreed  that  it 
is  wisest  to  make  clear  to  the  immigrants  that  English 
is  to  be  a  language  additional  to  the  one  wdiich  they 
already  know ;  and  that  by  learning  English  they  may 
''come  closer  to  their  children,  retain  their  confidence 
and  respect  and  thus  avert  the  frequent  domestic  trag- 
edy of  the  foreign  home";  that  without  English  they 
are  dependent  upon  their  children  for  guidance  and 
interpretation  whenever  they  leave  their  homes.  They 
should  know,  also,  that  English  will  reduce  their  lia- 
bility to  industrial  accidents,   to  exploitation,  and  to 


Educational  Phases  283 

disease;  that  it  will  enable  them  to  increase  the  number 
and  quality  of  their  friendships,  and  develop  their  best 
personalities;  and  that  it  will  put  them  in  position  to 
render  the  largest  possible  service  to  their  fellow 
countrymen  in  their  adopted  country. 

Inasmuch  as  there  are  many  pamphlets  available  on 
the  subject  of  methods  of  teaching  English  to  the  for- 
eign-born only  brief  attention  will  be  given  to  that 
subject  here.  The  adult  pupils  should  often  be  divided 
into  two  or  three  grades.  If  dull  and  bright  or  begin- 
ning and  advanced  pupils  are  left  together,  the  dull  be- 
come discouraged  and  cease  to  attend.  The  bright 
become  disgusted  and  likewise  discontinue  attending 
the  class. 

The  question  may  be  raised :  Should  the  teacher  be 
able  to  speak  the  language  of  the  foreign-born  adult 
pupil?  If  he  does,  he  and  they  possess  an  important 
bond  of  sympathetic  understanding  which  is  invalu- 
able. On  the  other  hand,  if  he  speaks  only  English, 
the  pupils  will  need  to  make  a  special  effort  to  under- 
stand —  an  exertion  which  will  expedite  the  process 
of  learning  the  English  language. 

There  are  two  main  methods  of  teaching  a  foreign 
language:  the  indirect,*^r  grammar-translation  meth- 
od; and  the  Redirect,  or  the  observation-dramatic 
method.  The  former  has  been  used  widely  in  teaching 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  modern  languages  in  high 
schools  and  colleges.  It  is  more  or  less  discredited. 
The  latter  is  used  extensively  in  teaching  English  to 
the  foreign-born.  It  was  developed  by  Francois  Gouin 
about  1888.  The  pupil  repeats  expressions  and  per- 
forms acts.  The  method  is  dramatic.  It  teaches 
through  observation  and  performance. 


284  ■  Am  ericanizatio  n 

Peter  Roberts  was  the  first  person  to  adapt  the  Gouin 
method  to  teaching  EngHsh  to  immigrants  in  the 
United  States.  He  stressed  the  importance  of  teach- 
ing from  the  standpoint  of  the  immigrant's  daily  ex- 
periences. The  teacher  may  bring  to  the  class,  for  ex- 
ample, a  small  hatchet,  a  stick  of  wood,  a  block,  and 
a  basket,  and  then  proceed  to  teach  English  through 
a  lesson  in  building  a  fire. 

C.  C.  DeWitt  has  modified  the  Gouin  system  by 
introducing  a  vocabulary  for  workers  in  a  factory. 
In  fact,  there  is  a  large  number  of  adaptations  of  the 
Gouin  system.  ^  Moreover,  there  ought  to  be  as  many 
adaptations  as  teachers  and  classes.  No  one  method 
need  be  slavishly  followed. 

The  teaching  of  grammar  should  follow  the  teach- 
ing of  language  and  of  writing.  The  alphabet  may  be 
taught  as  a  part  of  the  writing  lessons.  The  teaching 
of  English  sounds  requires  exhibitions  by  the  teacher 
of  how  to  make  these  sounds  correctly,  followed  by 
concert  drills.  Concert  work  is  the  ideal,  supplemented 
by  special  attention  to  individual  pupils  who  have  spe- 
cial difficulties.  For  beginners,  the  printed  page  need 
not  necessarily  be  used,  because  the  natural  way  of 
learning  to  speak  a  language  is  through  observation 
and  the  ear  rather  than  by  the  text  book. 

Excursions  often  supplement  class  work  splendidly, 
enabling  the  teacher  to  objectify  many  terms  which 
otherwise  would  remain  obscure.  The  best  teacher 
combines  all  these  methods  according  to  the  needs  of 
the  class.  She  centers  her  teaching  upon  the  everyday 
life  of  the  immigrants.  Best  of  all,  she  exemplifies  in 
her  own  actions  and  ideals  a  democratic,  socialized, 
American  spirit. 


Educational  Phases  285 

The  teacher  needs  to  have  a  knowledge  of  pedagogy, 
psychology,  and  sociology.  She  needs  to  know  the 
traditions  and  problems  in  the  minds  of  immigrant 
pupils.  After  all,  the  personality  of  the  teacher  is 
possibly  the  most  important  factor  in  the  whole  situa- 
tion. The  teaching  of  English  to  the  foreign-born  is 
only  an  educational  beginning.  The  classes  in  English 
should  lead  to  courses  in  American  history  and  civics. 
These  may  lead  to  naturalization  and  constitute  a  part 
of  the  diploma  plan  of  naturalization.  They  may  also 
co-ordinate  well  with  immigrant  participation  in  com- 
munity organization  and  public  life. 

The  night  school  is  a  first-class  Americanization  in- 
stitution. It  gives  immigrants  an  opportunity  to  learn 
English  and  the  nature  of  citizenship;  to  come  in  con- 
tact with  sympathetic  teachers  and  learn  Americanism 
at  its  best ;  and  to  participate  democratically  in  the  so- 
cial and  community  life  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  night  school  teachers  have  usually  been  "day'* 
teachers  who  have  undertaken  evening  classes  in  addi- 
tion to  an  already  full  schedule  of  work.  They  often 
meet  the  evening  classes  in  a  tired  state  of  mind,  and 
because  of  the  night  work  have  gone  in  a  fatigued 
condition  to  the  work  of^the  next  day.  Hence,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  nerve  strain  becomes  great. 
Further,  they  have  had  to  teach  adults  in  the  evening 
classes  who  themselves  are  fatigued  from  having  put 
in  a  full^ day's  work.  The  night  school  teacher  should 
have  only  part  daytime  work,  and  be  able  to  come  to  her 
evening  classes,  full  of  resourcefulness,  and  supported 
by  special  training  in  the  nature  of  Americanization, 
of  immigrant  backgrounds,  and  of  the  latest  teaching 
technique. 


286  Americaniz-ation 

Night  schools  are  praiseworthy,  but  do  not  afford 
a  fair  opportunity  to  the  immigrant  to  learn.  After  a 
man  has  labored  during  the  day  at  monotonous,  tire- 
some work,  the  fatigue  toxins  have  tired  the  brain. 
Only  the  exceptional  individuals  among  unskilled  men 
have  enough  initiative  left  to  attend  school  at  night. 
Further,  the  night  school  method  carries  the  implica- 
tion that  the  physical  work  which  the  unskilled  imnn- 
grant  can  do  is  the  thing  of  paramount  importance, 
and  that  the  immigrant's  mental  and  spiritual  develop- 
ment is  secondary.  If  the  choice  could  be  made  of 
giving  the  unlettered  immigrant  the  poorest  or  the  best 
hour  of  the  day  in  order  to  secure  his  training  in  citi- 
zenship, the  best  hour  should  be  his,  not  only  for  his 
sake  but  for  the  nation's  sake  as  well. 

In  order  that  nearly  all  w^orkers  may  be  reached,  it 
is  necessary  for  the  school  to  go  to  the  factory.  Ac- 
cording to  this  method,  the  immigrant  worker  may  be 
given  a  half  hour  per  day  without  wage-reduction, 
whereby  under  the  direction  of  public  school  teachers 
w^ho  go  to  the  shops,  he  may  study  English  and  citizen- 
ship. The  public  school  system  furnishes  the  teachers 
and  the  equipment;  and  the  employers,  the  space,  arti- 
ficial light,  their  co-operative  interest,  and  perhaps  one- 
half  hour  of  the  time  of  men  without  reducing  wages. 
Employers  are  learning  that  such  welfare  work  is 
economically  profitable.  It  reduces  industrial  accidents, 
decreases  cost  of  supervising  immigrant  emj)loyees, 
raises  the  efficiency  of  these  employees,  increases  the 
employees'  length  of  employment  by  a  given  employer, 
and  decreases  their  subserviency  to  foreign-spirited 
leaders.     It  is  also  patriotic. 

According    to    the    DeWitt-Ford    plan,    industrial 


Educational  Phases  287 

teachers  rather  than  pubHc  school  teachers  are  used. 
The  industrial  teacher  is  chosen  from  the  employees 
of  the  given  firms.  Men  who  have  ever  had  any  teach- 
ing experience  or  who  think  that  they  have  teaching 
ability  are  brought  together  in  the  factory  and  given  a 
short  training  course  in  teaching  English  and 
Americanization.  This  course  lasts  for  ten  or  twelve 
weeks  and  meets  for  two  hours  each  day.  It  is  an  honor 
for  a  man  to  be  chosen  from  his  department  for  Amer- 
icanization work.  The  industrial  teacher  has  many 
things  in  common  with  the  pupils,  such  as  the  same 
employer,  the  same  hours  of  work,  the  same  pay  day, 
the  same  environment,  and  the  same  legal  holidays. 
The  weaknesses  of  the  plan  are  those  inherent  in  volun- 
teer teaching  and  in  incomplete  training  of  teachers. 

Whatever  may  be  the  situation  concerning  the  indus- 
trial teacher,  it  is  clear  that  factory  classes  meet  a  need 
that  the  night  school  cannot  fill.  Factory  classes,  how- 
ever, face  several  difficulties,  such  as  inadequate  class- 
room facilities,  the  lack  of  interest  of  many  employers 
and  the  opposition  of  others,  the  high  percentage  of 
labor  turnover  and  also  of  population  turnover,  the 
indifference  of  employees.  The  solution  of  these  prob- 
lems lies  in  the  directiow  of  the  appointment  of  indus- 
trial plant  directors  of  Americanization  who  will  read- 
ily co-operate  with  the  directors  of  Americanization  of 
the  public  schools. 

It  is  wise  to  supplement  the  Americanization  work 
for  adult  immigrant  men  by  similar  activity  in  behalf 
of  the  women.  Other  thing^  being  equal,  the  mother 
is  the  most  important  single  factor  in  the  training  of 
children.  Likewise,  the  immigrant  mother  is  the  most 
important    single    factor  in  Americanization,  and  vet 


288  A  mericanwa  tio  n 

thus  far,  the  immigrant  mothers  have  been  the  most 
neglected  elements  in  the  entire  Americanization  field. 

As  a  rule,  adult  foreign-born  women  cannot  attend 
night  classes,  because  of  being  too  tired,  of  caring  for 
young  children,  of  having  husbands  who  will  not  per- 
mit them  to  attend  night  school.  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  organize  classes  for  them  whenever  and  wher- 
ever they  can  gather  together  in  small  groups."  Morn- 
ing and  afternoon  classes  in  school  buildings,  and  cot- 
tage classes  and  home  teachers  serve  well  the  interests 
of  the  foreign-born  mothers.  The  best  plan  is  to  ar- 
range classes  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  adult 
women,  and  then  to  supplement  the  class  work  by  indi- 
vidual instruction  in  the  homes..  It  may  even  be  wase 
to  organize  clubs'in  sewing,  cooking,  or  marketing,  and 
utilize  these  interests  as  means  of  teaching  English. 

Two  principles  apply  here,  as  in  all  phases  of  Amer- 
icanization teaching  of  adults,  first,  the  necessity  of 
taking  the  school  to  the  places  where  immigrants  can 
easily  gather,  and  second,  the  necessity  of  substituting 
the  fraternal  for  the  academic  atmosphere.  In  illus- 
tration of  the  last  point,  it  may  be  said  that  the  class 
room  for  adults  should  be  cleared  of  desks  and  pro- 
vided with  tables  around  which  the  immigrant  groups 
may  gather.  Immigrant  mothers,  especially,  are  fre- 
quently timid,  but  the  tabular  seating  arrangement 
quickly  generates  freedom  of  expression  and  thought. 

The  home  teacher  aids  the  mothers  in  their  own 
homes,  helping  them  to  solve  the  daily  problems  of 
caring  for  children,  of  household  management,  of  be- 
ing good  neighbors  and  citizens.  The  need  for  home 
teachers  is  very  great.  The  child  has  his  school  con- 
tacts, the  father  his  industrial  contacts,  but  the  foreign- 


Educational  Phases  289 

born  mother  has  almost  no  contacts  with  genuine 
Americanism.  It  is  imperative  that  the  entire  immi- 
grant family  be  educated  simultaneously,  so  that  they 
may  advance  together. 

Neighborhood  schools,  like  social  settlements,  have 
long  been  successful  Americanization  institutions.  The 
neighborhood  school  is  a  social  institution  which  aims 
to  understand  and  meet  all  the  needs  (save  the  relig- 
ious) of  all  the  people  of  a  congested  urban  district. 
They  serve  inexpensive  lunches,  meet  clothing  needs, 
render  legal  assistance,  teach  hygiene  and  sanitation, 
and  emphasize  family  and  national  loyalties.  They 
serve  as  social  service  clearing  houses  for  the  commu- 
nity. They  are  recreation  and  community  organiza- 
tion centers.  Indirectly,  if  not  directly,  they  are  Amer- 
icanization Houses.  Although  they  are  unable  to  do 
much  at  righting  fundamental  economic  wrongs,  they 
are  essentially  big  brothers  to  all,  to  both  foreign-born 
and  native-born,  to  both  the  oldest  and  the  youngest. 
They  also  foster  the  spirit  of  self-help  and  of  getting 
the  people  of  the  neighborhood  to  meet  their  own  needs 
as  far  as  possible. 

At  this  point  the  Americanization  significance  of  the 
kindergarten  may  be  stated.  The  kindergarten  reaches 
the  immigrant  child  before  the  regular  school  does;  it 
influences  him  at  a  very  impressionable  age;  it  incul- 
cates habits  of  honesty,  courtesy,  democracy,  and  also 
teaches  American  ideals. 

The  stereopticon  is  a  useful  factor  in  teaching  immi- 
grants. By  the  use  of  slides,  words  may  be  objectified. 
By  using  slides  a  considerable  amount  of  valuable 
concert  work  can  be  done.  Reading  lessons  can  be  put 
on  the  screen.    Hence,  instead  of  the  pupils  being  con- 


2go  Americanization 

fined  to  individual  books  or  copies,  all  may  read  from 
the  screen.  "All  eyes  are  directed  toward  the  same 
point  on  the  screen,  and  the  teacher  is  enabled  to  carry 
along  a  class  of  40  pupils  as  well  as  one,  with  the  fur- 
ther advantage  that  all  members  of  the  class  are  fol- 
lowing, and  all  profit  by  the  mistakes  and  success  of 
the  one  who  is  reciting."  The  stereopticon  is  also  useful 
in  teaching  American  ideals  to  immigrants.  By  this 
method  it  is  possible  to  illustrate  easily  to  the  class 
some  of  the  historic  places  and  events  in  American 
history,  from  which  Americanism  has  received  its 
most  concrete  meanings. 

The  motion  picture  is  vitally  related  to  Americaniza- 
tion. It  is  used  extensively  by  the  commercial  "movie" 
for  illustrating  various  phases  of  American  life.  Un- 
fortunately, the  films  which  deal  with  sex  abnormali- 
ties, financial  crookedness,  extravagant  living,  and 
other  anti-social  practices  predominate.  It  is  much  to 
be  feared  that  the  motion  picture  is  greater  as  a  disin- 
tegrating than  as  a  constructive  force  in  Americaniza- 
tion. Special  attention,  however,  is  being  given  to  the 
production  of  worthy  Americanization  films,  such  as 
"The  Foundation  of  Citizenship,"  "The  Teaching  of 
English  to  Foreigners,"  "The  Immigrant,"  and  "An 
American  in  the  Making."  The  constructive  possi- 
bilities of  the  motion  picture  under  the  direction  of 
community  leadership  are  almost  unlimited  for  the 
cause  of  Americanization. 

The  phonograph  may  serve  Americanization.  The 
teacher  can  use  it  to  supplement  her  work.  It  is  "free 
from  nervousness  and  irritation,  and  never  grows  im- 
patient. A  lesson  may  be  reviewed  a  hundred  times, 
if  necessary,  without  exciting  the  displeasure  of  any- 


Educational  Phases  291 

one."  The  phonograph  is  also  valuable  for  carrying 
American  tunes,  songs,  and  hymns  into  immigrant 
homes. 

There  is  a  genuine  need  for  the  training  of  teachers 
for  Americanization.  Normal  schools  and  colleges  are 
beginning  to  offer  training  courses  in  Americanization, 
English  for  the  Foreign-Born,  and  related  subjects. 
Training  in  fkld  work  should  include  at  least  three 
hours  a  week  of  practice  teaching  of  adults  for  several 
months  under  careful  supervision.  As  a  rule,  it  is 
better  to  select  experienced  teachers  who  can  make 
wholesome  contacts  with  adult  immigrants  quickly  and 
without  creating  embarrassments;  who  can  command 
the  good  will  of  immigrants ;  and  who  can  secure  their 
co-operation.  Successful  Americanization  teachers  are 
difficult  to  find,  and  even  more  difficult  to  train.  Indi- 
viduals cannot  be  made  into  Americanization  teachers 
€71  masse;  they  must  undergo  a  process  of  selection  and 
of  special  training. 

Racial  segregation  in  the  schools  constitutes  a  spe- 
cial problem.  The  parents  of  American  born  children 
often  object  to  the  presence  in  the  class-room  of  for- 
eign-born or  colored  children.  The  objections  grow 
strong  if  the  foreign-horn  or  colored  child  is  several 
years  older  than  the  age  of  the  normal  child  for  the 
given  grade.  The  solution  rests  in  arranging  special 
classes  and  work  for  distinctly  abnormal  pupils.  It  is 
pathetic,  for  example,  to  see  a  twelve  year  old  boy, 
whether  foreign-born  or  native,  following  the  first 
grade  schedule.  Such  a  lad  needs  manual  training  and 
beginning  lessons  in  English. 

Sometimes  the  foreign-born  children  outnumber  the 
other  work  for  twelve  year  old  boys  along  with  his 


2(^2  Americanization 

native-born  in  a  given  grade.  In  this  event  it  is  natural 
that  the  parents  of  ihe  American  children  protest  vig- 
orously. No  child  feels  at  home  where  the  preponder- 
ance of  influence  is  contrary  to  the  influence  exerted 
by  his  own  type.  This  rule  applies  to  a  minority  of 
either  foreign-born  or  native-born,  children.  If  seg- 
regation must  occur,  it  ought  to  take  place  upon  a  non- 
English-speaking  or  a  retardation  basis  rather  than 
upon  racial  grounds. 

Another  point  which  needs  careful  attention  is  that 
when  a  school  geographically  becomes  a  racial  school 
it  should  not  be  neglected.  Schools  in  foreign  districts 
either  in  cities  or  in  the  country  are  apt  to  have  inade- 
quate play  space  and  apparatus,  to  be  poorly  located, 
and  to  be  allowed  to  remain  distinctly  un-American  in 
appearance  and  maintenance.  From  an  Americanization 
standpoint,  such  schools  need  an  exceptional  degree  of 
attention,  both  financial  and  pedagogical. 

Another  vital  element  in  the  educational  technique 
of  Americanization  is  represented  by  lecture  courses, 
similar  to  the  one  which  was  inaugurated  by  the  Im- 
migration Department  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  San  Francisco  in  1918.  The  lecturers 
on  Americanization  were  not  the  native-born  but  the 
foreign-born  leaders.  The  Jugo-Slav,  Greek,  Japanese, 
Italian,  Jewish,  Russian,  Portuguese,  Armenian,  and 
Scandinavian  races  were  thus  represented.  As  excep- 
tions, the  speakers  for  the  Chinese  and  the  Mexicans 
were  Americans.  The  chief  interest  was  not  what  these 
foreign-born  groups  needed  from  America  but  what 
they  possessed  of  value  that  they  could  build  into 
Americanism.  The  philanthropic  desire  to  help  the 
poor  immigrant  is  reported  as  being  refreshingly  ab- 


Educational  Phases  293 

sent.  Fortunately,  the  patronizing  tone  toward  the  im- 
migrant, which  is  so  common  among  would-be  Ameri- 
canization workers,  was  omitted.  Its  place  was  taken 
by  the  immigrant's  desire  to  be  self-reliant  and  to  give 
as  well  as  receive.  The  impression  grew  that  even 
Americans  who  had  been  talking  of  Americanization 
might  profitably  give  more  of  their  time  "to  broaden- 
ing the  minds  of  our  American  adults  and  children," 
until  no  one  was  left  who  conceived  Americanization 
as  an  imposition  of  American  ideals  upon  the  racial 
groups  who  come  to  give  and  to  share.  It  became 
apparent  that  a  phase  of  Americanization  consists  of 
"a  distillation  of  the  purest  ideals  of  all  those  peoples 
who  come  to  us." 

The  foreign  language  newspapers  have  been  the  cen- 
ter of  heated  discussions.  The  American  Association 
of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers  is  a  corporation  of 
more  than  1500  foreign  language  newspapers  and  with 
more  than  12,000,000  readers.  The  chief  aim  of  this 
association  is  "to  help  preserve  the  ideals  and  sacred 
doctrines  of  this  our  adopted  country,  the  United 
States  of  America."  But  the  editorial  influence  of  the 
foreign  language  newspaper  is  small.  The  indirect 
influence  in  behalf  of  rtrcial  loyalty,  however,  is  strong. 

The  foreign  language  newspaper  is  read  by  adult  im- 
migrants, but  not  to  a  great  extent  by  their  children. 
It  keeps  alive  home  ties  and  is  a  source  of  much  satis- 
faction. Its  weaknesses  are  largely  those  of  the  aver- 
age American  newspaper.  As  an  institution,  the  for- 
eign language  newspaper  probably  does  not  exert  as 
disintegrating  an  influence  upon  American  life  as  do 
many  American  newspapers  which  regularly  play  up 
for  the  public  the  latest  divorce  and  other  scandals. 


294  Americanization 

and  which  unwittingly  create  mistrust  in  and  disgust 
with  American  life.  It  would  be  unwise  to  suppress 
the  foreign  language  newspaper  by  fiat.  Without  it, 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  adult  immigrants  would  be 
cut  off  from  all  printed  communication  with  the  world. 

During  the  World  War  the  foreign  language  news- 
papers were  the  most  important  avenues  by  which  the 
Federal  Government  reached  the  masses  of  the  foreign- 
born  people  in  this  country.  This  experience  indicates 
that  in  peace  times  the  foreign  language  newspapers 
may  be  widely  serviceable  as  Americanization  agen- 
cies. They  can  be  utilized  by  our  Government  as  a 
means  for  teaching  the  importance  of  learning  Eng- 
lish, and  for  presenting  American  ideals.  The  sug- 
gestion is  excellent  that  the  government  maintain  a 
special  news  service  for  the  foreign  language  news- 
papers, presenting  current  developments  and  changes 
in  American  life,  and  conveying  information  to  the 
immigrants  which  will  enable  them  to  make  the  proper 
adjustments  to  American  conditions. 

Education  in  Americanism  may  well  begin  on  the 
steerage.  Talks  and  illustrated  lectures  concerning  the 
United  States,  the  English  language,  the  nature  and 
value  of  American  money,  and  the  types  and  conditions 
of  work  in  the  United  States  should  be  given.  Thus, 
the  immigrant  will  be  enabled  to  take  a  stride  toward 
understanding  the  United  States,  even  before  he  ar- 
rives; and  to  protect  himself,  upon  arrival,  from  ex- 
ploitation. He  will  be  assisted  in  making  constructive 
adjustments;  he  will  be  prevented  from  suffering  cer- 
tain disappointments. 

The  advantages  of  public  libraries  as  Americaniza- 
tion institutions  are  not  generally  appreciated.     They 


Educational  Phases  295 

appeal  to  old  and  young.  They  are  open  the  entire 
year.  They  furnish  reading  materials  in  many  lan- 
guages. They  provide  a  common  meeting  ground  for 
natives  and  immigrants.  They  are  social,  not  com- 
mercial, in  spirit.  They  are  democratic.  They  appeal 
to  the  immigrants  through  their  collections  of  paint- 
ings, their  musicals,  their  story  hours,  their  kindly  ser- 
vice. 

The  indirect  influence  of  a  constructive  American 
environment  cannot  be  over-estimated.  If  we  protect 
the  immigrant  from  exploitation  and  insist  on  better 
standards  of  living,  of  sanitation,  of  recreation,  of  edu- 
cation for  him,  he  will  almost  automatically  become  a 
good  American.  The  public  must  see  the  need  of  giv- 
ing the  honest  but  unlearned  immigrant  a  social  hand- 
shake, sympathetic  glances  of  the  eye,  and  full  oppor- 
tunities for  a  self-expression  that  is  in  harmony  with 
the  best  American  principles. 

If  we  will  give  the  immigrant  a  cordial  welcome,  a 
practical  fraternalism,  and  democratic  opportunities  in 
our  work-day  world,  he  will  give  his  all  to  America. 
As  a  class,  the  immigrants  are  teachable  and  patriotic. 
Often  they  appreciate  better  than  we  the  meaning  of 
freedom.  When  they  iearn  about  Americanism  at  its 
best,  they  repudiate  autocracy  and  enlist  in  the  cause 
of  democracy. 

Although  the  importance  of  religion  as  a  force  in 
Americanization  has  been  emphasized  in  an  earlier 
chapter,  the  significance  of  religious  education  deserves 
special  comment.  If  religion  is  a  vital  force  in  human 
life,  as  is  generally  believed,  then  its  promulgation 
through  the  churches  needs  to  be  supported  by  the 
schools.      The    public    educational    forces    must    face 


296  Americanization 

squarely  the  problem,  and  introduce  adequate  training 
in  the  fundamentals  of  religion  throughout  the  public 
schools.  Public  education  should  assist  in  turning  the 
tide  whereby  hundreds  of  thousands  of  immigrants  are 
losing  their  religious  faith  in  the  United  States,  and 
becoming  along  with  irreverent  natives,  a  source  of 
fundamental  instability. 

One  of  the  greatest  educational  tasks  of  American- 
ization is  to  overcome  race  prejudice.  In  Chapter 
Nineteen,  the  problem  was  stated  in  its  racial  aspects. 
Educationally,  race  prejudice  can  be  conquered.  It  is 
true  that  each  racial  unit  develops  the  unscientific  belief 
that  it  is  the  superior  race  — '*and  each  race  is  wrong." 
The  truth  is  that  each  race  may  be  superior  in  one 
or  more  particulars  but  inferior  to  other  races  in  sev- 
eral particulars.  Only  education  and  the  spirit  of 
Christian,  love  can  conquer  race  prejudice.  Inasmuch 
as  present  racial  differences  are  due  largely  to  varia- 
tions in  cultural  and  climatic  environments,  education 
and  love  will  bring  out  and  develop  the  underlying 
unity  of  the  races.  Only  education  can  keep  the  indi- 
vidual from  being  blind  to  the  weaknesses  of  his  own 
race  and  from  magnifying  the  weaknesses  of  other 
races.  Only  education  and  love  can  prevent  the  indi- 
vidual from  ignoring  the  best  qualities  of  other  races 
and  from  calling  the  ideal  of  a  brotherhood  of  man 
mere  moonshine.  Race  prejudice  against  the  foreigner, 
race  prejudice  between  racial  groups  of  the  foreign- 
born,  race  prejudice  against  the  native-born  can  all  be 
overcome  by  education  and  love. 

The  Americanization  of  the  foreign-born  is  largely 
an  indirect  process.  Americanization,  as  a  term,  arouses 
suspicions.    An  American  in  Italy,  for  example,  would 


Educational  Phases  -297 

object  to  a  blare  of  trumpets  announcing  that  all  Amer- 
icans were  going  to  be  subjected  to  an  Italianization 
program.  He  might,  however,  through  kindly  treat- 
ment, and  brotherly  attention  and  opportunities  learn 
to  love  Italy  and  to  want  to  become  a  citizen  of  Italy. 
It  is  in  similar  terms  that  we  must  think  and  act  with 
reference  to  the  Italian,  or  any  other  group  of  immi- 
grants in  the  United  States. 

Americanization  is  not  a  process  to  be  left  in  the 
hands  of  Americanization  workers  as  a  class,  or  even 
in  the  hands  of  public  educators.  Employers,  land- 
lords, and  their  agents,  may  render,  if  they  will,  tre- 
mendous and  fundamental  aid  to  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
canization, or  they  may  through  the  use  of  exploita- 
tion, injustice,  and  hypocrisy  offset  the  good  that 
nearly  all  other  persons  can  do  in  behalf  of  immigrants. 
Americanization  is  a  responsibility  and  an  opportunity 
which  comes  to  everyone  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  The  best  principle  of  procedure  is  to  begin, 
not  with  the  weaknesses,  but  with  the  good  will  and 
intelligence  of  immigrants.  The  immigrants,  also, 
must  bear  a  part  of  the  responsibility  and  share  in  the 
opportunity  of  becoming  true  Americans  —  they  must 
will  to  become  good  ^lericans.  The  process  of  Amer- 
icanization, then  depends  upon  good  will,  social  atti- 
tudes, and  co-operation,  patient  and  understanding 
effort  upon  the  part  of  all  who  live  in  the  United  States. 


iigS  •  Americanization 

PROBLEMS 

1.  What  is  meant  by  assimilation? 

2.  Why  should  the  immigrant  learn  the  English  lan- 

guage? 

3.  What  is  even  more  important  for  an  immigrant 

than  learning  English? 

4.  Why  must  the  successful  teacher  of  English  to 

the  foreign-born  be  unusually  inventive? 

5.  Why  is  the  term  English  to  Foreigners,  an  ob- 

jectionable title  for  a  text  book? 

6.  What  would  you  do  the  first  day  with  a  class  of 

twenty-five  non-English  speaking  adults? 

7.  What  are  the  dangers  of  too  much  emphasis  upon 

Americanization  ? 

8.  Can  an  immigrant  be  Americanized  too  quickly? 

9.  Why  is  Americanization  of  the  immigrant  an  ex- 

ceedingly delicate  psychological  and  sociological 
process  ? 

10.  Why  is  it  that  immigrants  cannot  be  American- 

ized by  force  ? 

11.  Why  should  Americanization  be  made  attractive 

rather  than  compulsory? 

12.  What   is   meant   by   putting   Americanism    into 

Americanization  ? 

13.  Should  there  be  courses  in  Americanization  in 

the  secondary  schools? 

14.  When  will  Americanization  be  completed? 

15.  In  what  ways  can  you  personally  assist  in  Amer- 

icanization work? 


APPENDIX  A 

BRIEF  ORIGINAL  STATEMENTS  OF 

AMERICAN   IDEALS 

For  the  convenience  of  teachers,  students^  and  speak- 
ers, a  group  of  brief  original  statements  of  American 
ideals  by  twenty-two  representative  American  spokes- 
men has  been  selected  and  brought  together  here  in 
convenient  form.  The  chronological  arrangement  of 
these  source  materials  makes  it  possible  to  study  the 
changes  in  and  the  development  of  American  ideals.  A 
brief  analysis  of  each  of  the  thirty-one  excerpts  is 
given  in  the  form  of  footnotes. 

The  chronological  list  of  American  Ideals  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

In  1 614  by  John  Smith. 

In  1620  by  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

In  1635  by  John  Winthrop. 

In  1757  by  Benjamin  Franklin. 

In  1775  by  Patrick  Henry. 

In  1776  by  Thomas  Jefferson. 

In  1796  by  George  Washington. 

In  1801  by  Thomes  Jefferson. 

In  1823  by  James  Monroe. 

In  1830  by  Daniel  Webster. 

In  1843  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison. 

In  1852  by  John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 

In  1858,  1861,  1863,  1865,  by  Abraham  Lincoln. 

In  1876  by  Bayard  Taylor. 


300  Americanization 

In  1878  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

In  1880  by  Phillips  Brooks. 

In  1884  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 

In  1895  by  Booker  T.  Washington. 

In  1896  by  Franklin  H.  Giddings. 

In  1899  by  William  Jennings  Bryan. 

In  1900  by  John  Dewey. 

In  1905  by  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

In  1909  by  Jane  Addams. 

In  1912,  1915,  by  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

In  191 5,  1917,  1918,  1919,  by  Wbodrow  Wilson. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1614 

By  John  Smith^ 

Who  can  desire  more  content,  that  hath  small  means, 
or  only  his  merit  to  advance  his  fortune,  than  to  tread, 
and  plant  that  ground  he  hath  purchased  by  the  hazard 
of  his  life?  If  he  have  but  the  taste  of  virtue  and  mag- 
nanimittie,  what  to  such  a  minde  can  bee  more  pleasant 
than  planting  and  building  a  foundation  for  his  Pos- 
teritie,  gotte  from  the  rude  earth,  by  God's  blessing 
and  his  own  industrie,  without  prejudice  to  any?  If 
he  have  any  graine  of  faith  or  zeale  in  Religion,  what 
can  he  doe  lesse  hurtful  to  any,  or  more  agreeable  to 
God,  than  seeke  to  convert  those  poore  savages  to 
know  Christ,  and  humanitie,  whose  labors  with  discre- 
tion will  triple  requite  thy  charge  and  paines? 

^Captain  John  Smith  is  the  first  American  writer  of  note;  first  ex- 
tensive American  explorer;  first  to  understand  the  Indians;  first  to 
make  a  statement  of  American  ideals.  The  reader  will  recognize  the 
adventuresome  note,  the  Christian  faith,  humanitarian  principles, 
British  loyalty,  and  cosmopolitan  outlook. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  301 

What  so  truly  sutes  with  honour  and  honesty  as  the 
discovering  things  unknowne,  erecting  Townes,  peo- 
pHng  Countries,  informing  the  ignorant,  reforming 
tliinos  unjust,  teaching  virtue;  and  gaine  to  our  Native 
mother  countrie  a  kingdom  to  attend  her;  finde  em- 
ployment for  those  that  are  idle  because  they  know 
not  what  to  doe;  so  farre  from  wronging  any,  as  to 
cause  Posterie  to  remember  thee,  and  remembering 
thee,  ever  honour  that  remembrance  with  praise. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1620 

By  THE  Pilgrim  Fathers^ 

In  ye  name  of  God,  Amen.  We  whose  names  are 
underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sover- 
eaigne  Lord,  King  James,  by  ye  grace  of  God,  of  Great 
Britaine,  France,  and  Ireland  king,  defender  of  ye 
faith,  etc.,  having  undertaken  for  the  glory  of  God, 
and  advancement  of  ye  Christian  faith  and  honour  of 
our  king  and  countrie,  a  voyage  to  plant  ye  first  colonie 
in  ye  Northerne  parts  of  Virginia,  doe  by  these  pres- 
ents solemnly  and  rr^tually  in  the  presence  of  God, 
and  one  of  another,  covenant,  and  combine  ourselves 
togeather  into  a  civill  body  politick;  for  our  better 
ordering,  and  preservation  and  furtherance  of  ye  ends 
aforesaid;  and  by  vertue  hereof  to  enacte,  constitute, 

-This  compact  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  which  was  made  on  board 
the  Mayflower  is  noteworthy  for  three  reasons.  (1)  It  proceeds  from 
religious  foundations.  (2)  It  represents  a  search  for  more  individual 
liberty  within  the  British  Empire.  (3)  It  establishes  a  political  gov- 
ernment that  is  controlled  by  just  and  equal  laws  and  not  by  the 
caprice  of  governor  and  ruler. 


302  Americanization 

and  frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts, 
constitutions,  and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall 
be  thought  most  meete  and  convenient  for  ye  generall 
good  of  ye  Colonie,  unto  which  we  promise  all  due 
submission  and  obedience.  In  witness  whereof  we 
have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names  at  Cap-Codd  ye 
1 1  of  November  in  ye  year  of  the  raigne  of  our  sover- 
aigne  Lord,  King  James,  of  England,  France,  and  Ire- 
land, ye  eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland  ye  fiftie-fourth. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1635. 
By  John  Winthrop^ 

There  is  a  two-fold  liberty,  natural  and  civil,  or  fed- 
eral. The  first  is  common  to  man  with  beasts  and 
other  creatures.  By  this,  man,  as  he  stands  in  relation 
to  man  simply,  hath  liberty  to  do  what  he  lists;  it  is 
a  liberty  to  evil  as  well  as  to  good.  This  liberty  is 
incompatible  and  inconsistent  with  authority,  and  can- 
not endure  the  least  restraint  of  the  most  just  authority. 
The  exercise  and  maintaining  of  this  liberty  makes  men 
grow  more  evil,  and  in  time  to  be  worse  than  brute 
beasts:     omnesf  sumus  licentia  deteriores 

The  other  kind  of  liberty  I  call  civil,  or  federal.  It 
may  also  be  termed  moral,  in  reference  to  the  covenant 
between  God  and  man,  in  the  moral  law,  and  the  politic 
covenants  and  constitutions  among  men  themselves. 
This  liberty  is  the  proper  end  and  object  of  authority, 

^In  this  exposition  by  John  Winthrop,  first  governor  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony,  the  first  comprehensive  analysis  of  American  liberty 
is  found.  Natural  liberty  is  repudiated  and  civil  or  social  liberty  is 
defended  on  the  grounds  of  strict  morality  and  religion. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  303 

and  cannot  exist  without  it;  and  it  is  a  liberty  to  that 
only  which  is  good,  just,  and  honest.  This  liberty  you 
are  to  stand  for,  with  the  hazard,  not  only  of  your 
goods  but  of  your  lives  if  need  be.     .     .     . 

If  you  stand  for  your  natural  corrupt  liberties,  and 
will  do  what  is  good  in  your  own  eyes,  you  will  not 
endure  the  least  weight  of  authority,  but  will  murmur, 
and  oppose,  and  be  always  striving  to  shake  off  that 
yoke;  but  if  you  will  be  satisfied  to  enjoy  such  civil 
and  lawful  liberties,  such  as  Christ  allows  you,  then 
will  you  quietly  and  cheerfully  submit  unto  that 
authority  which  is  set  over  you,  in  all  the  administra- 
tions of  it,  for  your  good.  ...  So  shall  your 
liberties  be  preserved,  in  upholding  the'  honor  and 
power  of  authority  amongst  you. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1757 

By  Benjamin  Franklin* 

Sloth  like  rust,  consumes  faster  than  labor  wears. 
He  that  riseth  late  must  trot  all  day. 
He  that  hath  a  trade  hath  an  estate,  and  he  that 
hath  a  calling  hath  ai^office  of  profit  and  honor. 
Diligence  is  the  mother  of  good  luck. 
One  to-day  is  worth  two  to-morrows. 
The  cat  in  gloves  catches  no  mice. 
Little  strokes  fell  great  oaks. 

^This  statement  of  Americanism,  taken  from  Poor  Richard's 
Almanac,  is  a  unique  expression  of  the  industrial  ideals  of  the  nation 
in  its  formative  decades.  The  present  generation,  however,  has 
veered  away  from  these  common  sense  proverbs  and  the  industrial 
morale  of  the  United  States  is  undergoing  a  change. 


304  Americanization 

If  you  would  have  your  business  done,  go;  if  not 
send. 

Beware  of  little  expenses;  a  small  leak  will  sink  a 
great  ship. 

Tis  hard  for  an  empty  bag  to  stand  upright. 

Creditors  have  better  memories  than  debtors. 

Rather  go  to  bed  supperless  than  rise  in  debt. 

What  is  a  butterfly?    At  best 
He's  but  a  caterpillar  drest. 

For  age  and  want,  save  w^hile  you  may, 
No  morning  sun  lasts  a  whole  day. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1775 
By  Patrick  Henry^- 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak, —  unable  to  cope 
with  so  formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we 
be  stronger?  Will  it  be  the  next  week,  or  the  next 
year?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  disarmed,  and 
when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  house? 
Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction? 
Shall  we  acquire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by 
lying  supinely  on  our  backs,  and  hugging  the  delusive 

^In  this  fiery  speech,  Patrick  Henry  crystallizes  the  two-fold  change 
in  political  sentiment  that  had  taken  place  in  the  century  and  a  half 
which  followed  the  signing  of  the  "Mayflower"  compact.  In  the 
first  place,  the  colonists  had  become  convinced  that  it  was  futile 
longer  to  seek  political  liberty  within  the  confines  of  the  British 
Empire.  In  the  second  place,  the  colonists  had  been  exasperated  be- 
yond measure  and  had  forgotten  all  else  save  the  ideal,  namely,  liberty. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  305 

phantom  of  Hope,  until  our  enemies  shall  have  bound 
us  hand  and  foot? 

Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of 
those  means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in 
our  power.  Three  millions  of  people  armed  in  the 
holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country  as  that 
which  we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force  which 
our  enemy  can  send  against  us. 

Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone. 
There  is  a  just  God  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of 
nations,  and  who  will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our 
battles  for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong 
alone;  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active  and  the  brave. 
Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were  base 
enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from 
the  contest.  There  is  no  retreat  but  in  submission 
and  slavery.  Our  chains  are  forged.  Their  clanking 
may  be  heard  on  the  plains  of  Boston.  The  war  is 
inevitable.  And  let  it  come!  I  repeat  it,  sir,  let  it 
come! 

It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gen- 
tlemen may  cry  peace,  peace,  but  there  is  no  peace. 
The  war  is  actually  begun.  The  next  gale  that  sweeps 
from  the  north  will  4>ring  to  our  ears  the  clash  of 
resounding  arms.  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the 
field.  Why  stand  we  here  idle?  What  is  it  that  gen- 
tlemen wish?  What  would  they  have?  Is  life  so 
dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the 
price  of  chains  and  slavery  ?  Forbid  it.  Almighty  God ! 
I  know  not  what  course  others  may  take,  but  as  for 
me,  give  me  liberty,  or  give  me  death ! 


3o6  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1776 

By  Thomas  Jefferson^ 

When  in  the  course  of  human  events  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  pjeople  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  as- 
sume among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate 
and  equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of  Nature  and 
Nature's  God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opin- 
ions of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the 
causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation.  We  hold 
these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created 
equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  creator  with  cer- 
tain inalienable  Rights,  that  among  these  are  Life,  Lib- 
erty and  the  pursuit  of  Happiness. —  That  to  secure 
these  rights.  Governments  are  instituted  among  Men, 
deriving  their  just  pov/ers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed, —  That  whenever  any  Form  of  Government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  Right  of 
the  People  to  alter  or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new 
Government,  laying  its  foundations  on  such  princi- 
ples and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them 
shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  Safety  and  Happi- 
ness. Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  Governments 
long  established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and 
transient  causes;  and  accordingly  all  experience  hath 
shewn,  that    mankind    are    more    disposed  to  suffer, 

^This  preamble  shows  the  distance  that  the  colonists  had  traveled 
in  the  fifteen  months  which  had  followed  Patrick  Henry's  "Liberty 
or  Death"  speech.  Inchoate  revolutionary  ideas  had  assumed  a  fixed 
and  dignified  form.  In  the  generalizations  by  Jefferson,  the  revolu- 
tionary impulses  became  a  set  of  high-minded  principles. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  307 

while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by 
abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 
But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pur- 
suing invariably  the  same  Object  evinces  a  design  to 
reduce  them  under  absolute  Despotism,  it  is  their  right, 
it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  ofif  such  Government,  and  to 
provide  new  Guards  for  their  future  security. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1787 
By  the  Makers  of  the  Constitution'^ 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to 
form  a  more  perfect  Union,  establish  justice,  insure 
domestic  tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defense, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings 
of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and 
establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

■^Eleven  stormy  years  had  passed  since  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  announced.  Notice  the  new  social  and  co-operative 
terminology  that  is  used  for  the  first  time:  "We,  the  people  of  the 
United  States."  Observe  the  new  principle  that  is  given  expression — 
a  perfect  Union  is  necessary  in  order  that  the  liberties  of  the  indi- 
vidual may  be  safe. 


3o8  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1796. 
By  George  Washington* 

Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  liberty  with  every  liga- 
ment of  your  hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  is 
necessary  to  fortify  or  confirm  the  attachment. 

The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one 
people,  is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so;  for 
it  is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edifice  of  your  real  independ- 
ence, the  support  of  your  tranquility  at  home,  your 
peace  abroad;  of  your  safety;  of  your  prosperity;  of 
that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.     .     .     . 

This  government,  the  offspring  of  your  own  choice, 
uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted  upon  full  investi- 
gation and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free  in  its 
principles,  in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting 
security  with  energy,  and  containing  within  itself  a 
provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to 
your  confidence  and  your  support.  Respect  for  its 
authority,  compliance  with  its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its 
measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  fundamental 
maxims  of  true  Liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political 
system  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  make  and  to  alter 
their  constitution  of  government.  But  the  constitution 
which  at  any  time  exists,  until  changed  by  an  explicit 

®In  the  Farewell  Address,  Washington  indicated  how  American 
attention  had  advanced  from  seeking  liberty,  per  se,  to  building  a 
union  of  sufficient  strength  to  endure,  and  yet  not  so  powerful  that 
it  would  necessarily  curb  individual  liberty  in  any  way.  Washington 
pointed  out  the  four  essential  comer-stones  for  such  a  national  struc- 
ture: (1)  respect  for  law;  (2)  religion  and  morality;  (3)  educational 
institutions;  and  (4)  justice  towards  but  no  permanent  alliance  with 
other  nations. 


Brief  Statement  of  Amefican  Ideals  309 

and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly 
obligatory  upon  all.     .     .     . 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to  po- 
litical prosperity,  religion  and  morality  the  indispen- 
sable supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the 
tribute  of  patriotism  who  should  labor  to  subvert 
these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest 
props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere 
politician  equally  with  the  pious  man  ought  to  respect 
and  to  cherish  them.  A  volume  could  not  trace  all 
their  connections  with  public  and  private  felicity.  Let 
it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for  property, 
for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obli- 
gation desert  the  oaths,  which  are  the  instruments  of 
investigation  in  courts  of  justice?  And  let  us  with 
caution  indulge  the  supposition,  that  morality  can  be 
maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be  con- 
ceded to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of 
peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid 
us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclu- 
sion of  religious  principles.     .     .     . 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  primary  importance, 
institutions  for  thq^general  diffusion  of  knowledge. 
In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  government  gives 
force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opin- 
ion should  be  enlightened.     .     .     . 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  nations; 
cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all.  Religion  and 
morality  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be,  that  good 
policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it  ?  It  will  be  worthy  of 
a  free,  enlightened,  and  at  no  distant  period  a  great 
nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous  and  too 


3 1  o  A  mericanization 

novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted 
justice  and  benevolence.     .     .     . 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us,  in  regard  to  for- 
eign nations,  is,  in  extending  our  commercial  relations, 
to  have  with  them  as  little  political  connection  as  pos- 
sible. .  .  .  Why,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with 
that  of  any  part  of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and 
prosperity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambition,  rivalship, 
interest,  humor,  or  caprice?  .  .  .  Taking  care  al- 
ways to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establishments,  on 
a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may  safely  trust 
to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1801 
By  Thomas  Jefferson* 

About  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exercise  of 
duties  which  comprehend  everything  dear  and  valua- 
ble to  you,  it  is  proper  you  should  understand  what 
I  deem  the  essential  principles  of  our  government,  and 
consequently  those  which  ought  to  shape  its  adminis- 
tration. I  will  compress  them  within  the  narrowest 
compass  they  will  bear,  stating  the  general  principle 
but  not  all  its  limitations: 

Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  state 
or  persuasion,  religious  or  political : 

^In  this  address  which  was  given  at  the  first  inauguration  of 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there 
is  the  most  complete,  comprehensive,  and  condensed  statement  that 
is  available  of  the  principles  upon  which  our  Republic  was  founded. 
Herein  is  found  the  famous  phrase,  "entangling  alliances  with  none," 
which  is  popularly  attributed  to  Washington. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  311 

Peace,  commerce,  and  honest  friendship  with  all  na- 
tions, entangling  alliances  with  none : 

The  support  of  the  State  governments  in  all  their 
rights,  as  the  most  competent  administration  for  our 
domestic  concerns,  and  the  surest  bulwarks  against 
anti-republican  tendencies: 

The  preservation  of  the  general  government  in  its 
whole  constitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our 
peace  at  home,  and  safety  abroad : 

A  jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people, 
a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses  which  are  lopped 
by  the  sword  of  revolution  where  peaceable  remedies 
are  unprovided: 

Absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  of  the  ma- 
jority, the  vital  principle  of  republics,  from  which  is 
no  appeal  but  to  force,  the  vital  principle  and  immedi- 
ate parent  of  despotism : 

A  well  disciplined  militia,  our  best  reliance  in  peace 
and  for  the  first  moments  of  war  until  regulars  may 
relieve  them : 

The  supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  author- 
ity: 

Economy  in  the  public  expense,  that  labor  may  be 
lightly  burdened : 

The  honest  payment  of  our  deJDts  and  sacred  preser- 
vation of  the  public  faith : 

Encouragement  of  agriculture  and  of  commerce  as 
its  handmaid : 

The  diffusion  of  information  and  arraignment  of  all 
abuses  at  the  bar  of  public  reason  : 

Freedom  of  religion  : 

Freedom  of  the  press : 


312 


Americamzation 


And  freedom  of  person  under  the  protection  of  the 
Habeas  Corpus,  and  trial  by  juries  impartially  selected. 

These  principles  form  the  bright  constellation  which 
has  gone  before  us,  and  guided  our  steps  through  the 
age  of  revolution  and  reformation.  The  wisdom  of 
our  sages,  and  blood  of  our  heroes  have  been  devoted 
to  their*  attainment.  They  should  be  the  creed  of  our 
political  faith,  the  text  of  civic  instruction,  the  touch- 
stone by  which  to  try  the  services  of  those  we  trust, 
and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  moments  of  error 
or  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps  and  to 
regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to  peace,  liberty,  and 
safety. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1823 

By  James  Monroe^^ 

In  the  wars  of  the  European  powers  in  matters  re- 
lating to  themselves  we  have  never  taken  any  part,  nor 
does  it  comport  with  our  policy  so  to  do.  It  is  only 
when  our  rights  are  invaded  or  seriously  menaced  that 
we  resent  injuries  or  make  preparation  for  our  defense. 
With  the  movements  in  this  hemisphere  we  are  of 
necessity  more  immediately  connected,  and  by  causes 
which  must  be  obvious  to  all  enlightened  and  impartial 

^°In  1823,  the  President  of  the  United  States  found  himself  in  a 
dilemma  regarding  an  international  problem  that  had  long  caused 
the  nation  considerable  anxiety.  Should  the  United  States  permit 
the  nations  of  Europe  to  spread  the  ideals  of  autocracy  on  the 
American  continent,  and  thus  court  war;  or  should  she  somewhat 
presumptuously  bar  them  from  further  colonization  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  thereby  invite  their  secret  and  jealous  enmity? 
President  Monroe  rightly  decided  that  the  nation  would  be  safer  with 
opponents  at  a  distance  than  to  have  them  entrenched  near  at  hand. 


Brief  Stat  emeu  t  of  American  Ideals  313 

observers.  The  political  system  of  the  allied  powers  is 
essentially  different  in  this  respect  from  that  of  Amer- 
ica. This  difference  proceeds  from  that  which  exists 
in  their  respective  governments ;  and  to  the  defense  of 
our  own  which  has  been  achieved  by  the  loss  of  so 
much  blood  and  treasure,  and  matured  by  the  wisdom 
of  their  most  enlightened  citizens,  and  under  which 
we  have  enjoyed  unexampled  felicity,  this  whole  nation 
is  devoted.  We  owe  it,  therefore,  to  candor  and  to 
the  amicable  relations  existing  between  the  United 
States  and  those  powers  to  declare  that  we  should  con- 
sider any  attempt  on  their  part  to  extend  their  system 
to  any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  our 
peace  and  safety.  With  the  existing  colonies  or  de- 
pendencies of  any  European  power  we  have  not  inter- 
fered and  shall  not  interfere.  But  with  the  Govern- 
ments who  have  declared  their  independence  and  main- 
tained it,  and  whose  independence  we  have,  on  great 
consideration  and  on  just  principles  acknowledged,  we 
would  not  view  any  interposition  for  the  purpose  of 
oppressing  them,  or  controlling  in  any  other  manner 
their  destiny,  by  any  European  power  in  any  other 
light  than  as  the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  dis- 
position toward  the  Tinited  States. 


314  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1830 
By  Daniel  Webster^^ 

I  profess,  Sir,  in  my  career  hitherto,  to  have  kept 
steadily  in  view  the  prosperity  and  honor  of  the  whole 
country,  and  the  preservation  of  our  Federal  Union. 
It  is  to  that  Union  we  owe  our  safety  at  home,  and 
our  consideration  and  dignity  abroad.  It  is  to  that 
Union  that  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  whatever  makes 
us  most  proud  of  our  country.  That  Union  we  reached 
only  by  discipline  of  our  virtues  in  the  severe  school 
of  adversity.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  necessities  of 
disordered  finance,  prostrate  commerce,  and  ruined 
credit.  Under  its  benign  influence,  these  great  inter- 
ests immediately  awoke,  as  from  the  dead,  and  sprang 
forth  with  newness  of  life.  Every  year  of  its  duration 
has  teemed  with  fresh  proofs  of  its  utility  and  its 
blessings ;  and  although  our  territory  has  stretched  out 
wider  and  wider,  and  our  population  spread  farther 
and  farther,  they  have  not  outrun  its  protection  or  its 
benefits.  It  has  been  to  us  all  a  copious  fountain  of 
national,  social,  and  personal  happiness. 

I  have  not  allowed  myself,  Sir,  to  look  beyond  the 
Union,  to  see  what  might  lie  hidden  in  the  dark  recess 
behind.  I  have  not  coolly  weighed  the  chances  of  pre- 
serving liberty  when  the  bonds  that  unite  us  together 
shall  be  broken  asunder.    I  have  not  accustomed  myself 

^^Thirty  years  had  passed  since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic. 
Individualism  and  individualistic  liberty  still  held  primary  sway  in 
American  life.  It  was  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  dangers  ahead  of  an 
overemphasis  upon  individual  hberty  which  brought  forth  the  eloquent 
eulogy  of  the  Union  from  the  heart  and  mind  of  Webster. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  315 

to  hang  over  the  precipice  of  disunion,  to  see  whether 
with  my  short  sight,  I  can  fathom  the  depth  of  the 
abyss  below;  nor  could  I  regard  him  as  a  safe  coun- 
sellor in  the  affairs  of  this  government,  whose  thoughts 
should  be  mainly  bent  on  considering,  not  how  the 
Union  may  be  best  preserved,  but  how  tolerable  might 
be  the  condition  of  the  people  when  it  should  be  broken 
up  and  destroyed.  While  the  Union  lasts,  we  have 
high,  exciting,  gratifying  prospects  spread  out  before 
us,  for  us  and  our  children.  Beyond  that  I  seek  not 
to  penetrate  the  veil.  God  grant  that,  in  my  day,  at 
least,  that  curtain  may  not  rise !  God  grant  that  on  my 
vision  never  may  be  opened  what  lies  behind ! 

When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold  for  the 
last  time  the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining 
on  the  broken  and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once 
glorious  Union;  on  siates  dissevered,  discordant,  bel- 
ligerent; on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or  drenched 
it  may  be  in  fraternal  blood!  Let  their  last  feeble  and 
lingering  glance  rather  behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of 
the  republic,  now  known  and  honored  throughout  the 
earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and  trophies 
streaming  in  their  original  lustre,  not  a  stripe  erased 
or  polluted,  not  a  singl^star  obscured,  bearing  for  its 
motto,  no  such  miserable  interrogatory  as  "What  is  all 
this  worth?"  nor  those  other  words  of  delusion  and 
folly,  "Liberty  first  and  Union  afterward" ;  but  every- 
where, spread  all  over  in  characters  of  living  light, 
blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea 
and  over  the  land,  and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole 
heavens,  that  other  sentiment  dear  to  every  true  Amer- 
ican heart,—  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one 
and  inseparable! 


3i6  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1843 

By  William  Lloyd  Garrison^^ 

They  tell  me,  Liberty!  that  in  thy  name 
I  may  not  plead  for  all  the  human  race; 
That  some  are  born  to  bondage  and  disgrace, 
Some  to  a  heritage  of  woe  and  shame, 
And  some  to  power  supreme,  and  glorious  fame : 
With  my  whole  soul  I  spurn  the  doctrine  base. 
And,  as  an  equal  brotherhood,  embrace 
All  people,  and  for  all  fair  freedom  claim ! 

Know  this,  O  man !  whatever  thy  earthly  fate  — 
God  never  made  a  tyrant  nor  a  slave : 
Woe,  then,  to  those  who  dare  to  desecrate 
His  glorious  image !  —  for  to  all  He  gave 
Eternal  rights,  which  none  may  violate; 
And,  by  a  mighty  hand,  the  oppressed  He  yet  shall 
save ! 


^-The  humanitarian  basis  of  the  impassioned  addresses  of  Garrison 
and  of  his  fellow  abolitionists  marks  the  rise  of  a  definite  and  com- 
prehensive social  consciousness  in  the  United  States,  It  was  a  social 
consciousness  that  finally  extended  the  meaning  of  liberty  to,  and 
struck  the  shackles  from,  the  Negro  slave. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  317 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1852 

By  John  Greenleaf  Whittier^^ 

The  proudest  now  is  but  my  peer, 

The  highest  not  more  high; 
Today,  of  all  the  weary  year, 

A  king  of  men  am  I. 
Today  alike  are  great  and  small, 

The  nameless  and  the  known ; 
My  palace  is  the  peoples'  hall, 

The  ballot-box  my  throne ! 

Who  serves  today  upon  the  list 

Beside  the  served  shall  stand; 
Alike  the  brown  and  wrinkled  fist, 

The  gloved  and  dainty  hand! 
The  rich  is  level  with  the  poor, 

The  weak  is  strong  today; 
And  sleekest  broadcloth  counts  no  more 

Than  homespun  frock  of  gray. 

Today  let  pomp^and  vain  pretence 

My  stubborn  right  abide ; 
I  set  a  plain  man's  common  sense 

Against  the  pedant's  pride. 

^^Above  all  things  else,  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  was  democratic. 
The  virile  abolitionist  points  out  in  this  poem  on  "The  Poor  Voter 
on  Election  Day,"  the  strength  of  democracy.  On  election  day  the 
vote  of  the  humblest  is  as  mighty  as  that  of  the  mightiest.  As  long 
as  the  ballot  box  is  kept  open  to  all,  there  is  no  cause  for  revolution. 
But  since  the  time  of  Whittier,  voting  has  become  complex  and 
difficult,  and  furthermore,  between  election  days  the  average  citizen 
has  little  opportunity  to  know  what  is  going  on  politically. 


3i8  Americanization 

Today  shall  simple  manhood  try 
The  strength  of  gold  and  land; 

The  wide  world  has  not  wealth  to  buy 
The  power  in  my  right  hand ! 

While  there's  a  grief  to  seek  redress, 

Or  balance  to  adjust, 
Where  weighs  our  living  manhood  less 

Than  Mammon's  vilest  dust, — 
While  there's  a  right  to  need  my  vote, 

A  wrong  to  sweep  away, 
Up !  clouted  knee  and  ragged  coat ! 

A  man's  a  man  today ! 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1858 
By  Abraham  Lincoln^* 

If  we  could  first  know  where  we  are,  and  whither 
we  are  tending,  we  could  better  judge  what  to  do,  and 
how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far  into  the  fifth  year  since 
a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object  and  con- 
fident promise  of  putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation. 
Under  the  operation  of  that  policy,  that  agitation  has 
not  only  not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented.  In 
my  opinion,  it  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have 

^^The  question  of  granting  liberty  to  the  Negro  at  last  became 
inextricably  entangled  with  that  other  fundamental  but  entirely  differ- 
ent question  of  the  strength  of  the  Union.  The  first  great  opening 
speech  of  the  final  struggle  between  the  Abolitionists  and  Unionists 
on  one  hand,  and  the  Slavery  adherents  and  the  Secessionists  on  the 
other  hand  was  delivered  by  Lincoln,  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  Jime 
16,  1858.  On  this  occasion,  Lincoln  rested  his  decision  on  the  belief 
in  the  nation  as  an  indivisible  social  unit. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  319 

been  reached  and  passed.  ''A  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand."  I  beHeve  this  government  cannot 
endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved  —  I  do  not  expect 
the  house  to  fall  —  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or  all  the  other. 
Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further 
spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall 
rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction;  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward  till  it 
shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well 
as  new,  North  as  well  as  South. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1861 

By  Abraham  Lincoln^^ 

Labor  is  prior  to,  and  independent  of  capital.  Cap- 
ital is  only  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have 
existed  if  labor  had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the 
superior  of  capital,  and  deserves  much  the  higher  con- 
sideration. Capital  habits  rights,  which  are  as  worthy 
of  protection  as  any  other  rights.  Nor  is  it  denied 
that  there  is,  and  probably  will  be,  a  relation  between 
labor  and  capital  producing  mutual  benefits. 

^'Lincoln  made  this  famous  pronouncement  upon  the  relative  im- 
portance of  labor  and  capital  in  the  days  before  capitalism  became 
powerful  in  the  United  States.  This  pronouncement  is  taken  from 
the  Emancipator's  first  presidential  address  to  Congress.  He  was 
speaking  on  the  subject  of  slave  labor,  but  even  so,  he  made  labor 
superior  to  capital — an  ideal  which  undoubtedly  the  majority  of 
Americans  still  cherish. 


320  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1863 
By  Abraham  Lincoln^* 

Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  on  this  continent,  a  new  nation,  conceived  in 
Liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men 
are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  other  nation  so  conceived 
and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a 
great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to  dedi- 
cate a  portion  of  that  field,  as  a  final  resting  place  for 
those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might 
live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate  —  we 
cannot  consecrate  —  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground. 
The  brave  men  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here 
have  consecrated  it,  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add 
or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remem- 
ber what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what 
they  did  here.  It  is  for  us  the  living,  rather,  to  be 
dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  worlc  which  they  who 
fought  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather 
for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us  —  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take 
increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave 

^®It  is  in  crises  that  great  decisions  are  made  and  immortal  senti- 
ments are  expressed.  War  is  such  a  crisis.  A  civil  war  is  a  crisis  that 
is  especially  heart-rending  because  the  opposing  forces  are  often  of 
the  same  blood  and  possessed  of  kindred  interests.  The  greatest  senti- 
ment which  came  out  of  our  Civil  War  was  voiced  by  Lincoln  in  his 
Gettysburg  speech  when  he  gave  a  new  definition  to  democracy. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  321 

the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  —  that  we  here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  — 
that  this  nation  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of 
freedom  —  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1865 
By  Abraham  Lincol,n^'^ 

One-eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored 
slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but 
localized  in  the  southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  con- 
stituted a  peculiar  and  powerful  interest.  All  knew 
that  this  interest  was,  somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war. 
To  strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was 
the  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the 
Union  even  by  war ;  while  the  Government  claimed  no 
right  to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlarge- 
ment of  it.  .  .  .  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do 
we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily 
pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  it  that  it  continue  until 
all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid 
with  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three 
thousand  years  ago,   so   still   it   must  be   said,   'The 

^'The  conqueror  in  war  is  tempted  to  become  puffed  up,  vain- 
glorious, and  lordly.  But  it  was  not  so  with  Lincoln.  The  United 
States  will  never  cease  to  praise  the  spirit  which  prompted  Lincoln 
at  the  victorious  close  of  the  Civil  War  to  say,  "With  malice  toward 
none,  with  charity  for  all."  Nothing  more  Christian,  and  nothing 
more  social  in  all  history  has  ever  been  said. 


2,22  Americanization 

judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  alto- 
gether." 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right, 
let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind 
up  the  nation's  wounds ;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have 
borne  the  battle  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan; 
to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  a 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1876 

By  Bayard  Taylor^* 

Foreseen  in  the  vision  of  sages 

Foretold  when  martyrs  bled. 

She  was  born  of  the  longing  of  ages, 

By  the  truth  of  the  noble  dead 

And  the  faith  of  the  living  fed ! 

No  blood  in  her  lightest  veins 

Frets  at  remembered  chains 
Nor  shame  of  bondage  has  bowed  her  head. 

In  her  form  and  features  still 

The  unblenching  Puritan  will, 

Cavalier  honor,  Huguenot  grace, 

The  Quaker  truth  and  sweetness, 
And  the  strength  of  the  danger-girdled  race 
Of  Holland,  blend  in  a  proud  completeness. 
From  homes  of  all  where  her  being  began 

^^The  racial  and  social  cosmopolitanism  of  the  United  States,  in 
both  her  origin  and  later  development,  has  never  been  better  stated 
than  by  Bayard  Taylor  in  the  National  Ode,  "America,"  which  he 
delivered  on  July  4,  1876,  the  centenary  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence,   Only  the  closing  lines  are  printed  here. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  323 

She  took  what  she  gave  to  man ; 

Justice  that  knew  no  station, 

Behef  as  soul  decreed, 

Free  air  for  aspiration. 
Free  force  for  independent  deed ! 

She  takes  but  to  give  again, 
As  the  sea  returns  the  rivers  in  rain; 
And  gathers  the  chosen  of  her  seed 
From  the  hunted  of  every  crown  and  creed. 

Her  Germany  dwells  by  a  gentler  Rhine; 

Her  Ireland  sees  the  old  sunburst  shine; 

Her  France  pursues  some  dream  divine; 

Her  Norway  keeps  his  mountain  pine; 

Her  Italy  waits  by  the  western  brine; 

And,  broad-based  under  all, 
Is  planted  England's  oaken-hearted  mood, 

As  rich  in  fortitude 
As  e'er  went  worldward  from  the  island  wall! 

Fused  in  her  candid  light. 
To  one  strong  race  all  races  here  unite ; 
Tongues  melt  in  hers,  hereditary  foemen 
Forget  their  sword  and  slogan,  kith  and  clan. 

'Twas  glory  once  to  be  a  Roman : 
She  makes  it  glory,  nolv  to  be  a  man ! 


324  Americanization 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1878 
By  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson^^ 

I  wish  to  see  America  not  like  the  old  powers  of  the 
earth,  grasping,  exclusive  and  narrow,  but  a  benefactor 
such  as  no  country  ever  was,  hospitable  to  all  nations, 
legislating  for  all  nationalities.  Nations  were  made 
to  help  each  other  as  much  as  families  were;  and  all 
advancement  is  by  ideas,  and  not  by  brute  force  or 
mechanic  forcf.     .     .     . 

What  this  country  longs  for  is  personalities,  grand 
persons,  to  counteract  its  materialities.     .     .     . 

We  want  men  of  original  perception  and  original 
action,  who  can  open  their  eyes  wider  than  to  a  nation- 
ality,—  namely,  to  considerations  of  benefit  to  the  hu- 
man race, —  can  act  in  the  interest  of  civilization ;  men 
of  elastic,  men  of  moral  mind,  who  can  live  in  the 
moment  and  take  a  step  forward.     .     .     . 

I  hope  America  will  come  to  have  its  pride  in  being 
a  nation  of  servants,  and  not  of  the  served.  How  can 
men  have  any  other  ambition  where  the  reason  has  not 
suffered  a  disastrous  eclipse.     .     .     . 

Trade  and  government  will  not  alone  be  the  favored 
aims  of  mankind,  but  every  useful,  every  elegant  art, 
every  exercise  of  imagination,  the  height  of  reason, 
the  noblest  affection,  the  purest  religion  will  find  their 
home  in  our  institutions,  and  write  our  laws  for  the 
benefit  of  man. 

^^These  paragraphs  are  taken  from  "the  Fortune  of  the  Republic," 
which  was  one  of  the  last  addresses  delivered  (March  30,  1878)  by 
Emerson.  In  it,  Emerson  points  out  (1)  the  need  for  an  unselfish 
America;  (2)  for  unselfish  and  world-minded  personalities,  and  (3) 
for  a  balanced  emphasis  upon  the  spiritual  and  material  forces  of  life. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  325 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1880 
By  Phillips  Brooks^o 

It  is  not  for  me  to  glorify  tonight  the  country  which 
I  love  with  all  my  heart  and  soul.  I  may  not  ask  your 
praise  for  anything  admirable  which  the  United  States 
has  been  or  done.  But  on  my  country's  birthday  I  may 
do  something  far  more  solemn  and  more  worthy  of  the 
hour.  I  may  ask  you  for  your  prayer  in  her  behalf. 
That  on  the  manifold  and  wondrous  chance  which  God 
is  giving  her, —  on  her  freedom  (for  she  is  free,  since 
the  old  stain  of  slavery  was  washed  out  in  her  blood)  ; 
on  her  unrestrained  religious  life;  on  her  passion  for 
education,  and  her  eager  search  for  truth ;  on  her  jeal- 
ous care  for  the  poor  man's  rights  and  opportunities; 
on  her  countless  quiet  homes  where  the  future  gener- 
ations of  her  men  are  growing;  on  her  manufactures 
and  her  commerce;  on  her  wide  gates  open  to  the  east 
and  to  the  west;  on  her  strange  meetings  of  the  races 
out  of  which  a  new  race  is  slowly  being  born ;  on  her 
vast  enterprise  and  her  illimitable  hopefulness, —  on 
all  these  materials  ani  machineries  of  manhood,  on  all 
that  the  life  of  my  country  must  mean  for  humanity.  I 
may  ask  you  to  pray  that  the  blessing  of  God  the 

2^he  religious  ideal  has  always  been  accorded  a  high  place  among 
American  ideals.  It  has  consisted  not  only  in  religious  liberty,  but  in 
a  belief  that  the  worship  of  God  is  essential  to  the  Nation's  welfare. 
If  an  adequate  vote  could  be  taken  today  in  the  United  States,  it 
would  probably  show  that  Phillips  Brooks  is  ranked  as  the  best 
preacher  that  America  has  produced.  The  selection  that  is  printed 
here  from  his  well-known  sermon,  "The  Candle  of  the  Lord,"  dis- 
closes through  his  own  spirit  the  spirit  of  God  brooding  over  the 
nation. 


326  Americanization 

Father  of  man,  and  Christ  the  Son  of  man,  may  rest 
forever. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1884 
By  James  Russell  Lowell^^ 

Theodore  Parker  said  that :  ''Democracy  meant  not 
Tm  as  good  as  you  are,*  but  'you're  as  good  as  I  am/  " 
And  this  is  the  ethical  conception  of  it,  .  .  .  a  con- 
ception which,  could  it  be  made  actual  and  practical, 
would  easily  solve  all  the  riddles  that  the  old  sphinx 
of  political  and  social  economy  who  sits  by  the  roadside 
has  been  proposing  to  mankind  from  the  beginning, 
and  which  mankind  has  shown  such  a  singular  talent 
for  answering  wrongly.     .     .     . 

In  point  of  fact,  far-seeing  men  count  the  increasing 
power  of  wealth  and  its  combinations  as  one  of  the  chief 
dangers  with  which  the  institutions  of  the  United 
States  are  threatened  in  the  not  distant  future.  The 
right  of  individual  property  is  no  doubt  the  very  cor- 
nerstone of  civilization  as  hitherto  understood,  but  I 
am  a  little  impatient  of  being  told  that  property  is  en- 
titled to  exceptional  consideration  because  it  bears  all 
the  burdens  of  the  State.  It  bears  those,  indeed,  which 
can  most  easily  be  borne,  but  poverty  pays  with  its 

^^These  words  are  taken  from  Lowell's  famous  address  on 
Democracy,  delivered  in  Birmingham,  England,  in  1884.  At  this  time, 
Lowell  was  not  only  an  able  poet,  critic,  essayist,  public  speaker, 
statesman,  but  probably  the  greatest  living  American.  He  portrayed 
clearly  the  ethical  and  social  as  distinguished  from  the  political  and 
psychological  conceptions  of  democracy.  He  keenly  analyzed  the 
coming  conflicts  between  labor  and  capital  and  discerned  that  the  true 
solution  is  in  the  observance  of  moral  and  societary  principles. 


Brief  Stajtement  of  American  Ideals  327 

person  the  chief  expenses  of  war,  pestilence,  and  fam- 
ine. Wealth  should  not  forget  this,  for  poverty  is 
beginning  to  think  of  it  now  and  then.     .     .     . 

There  has  been  no  period  of  time  in  which  wealth  has 
been  more  sensible  of  its  duties  than  now.  It  builds 
hospitals,  it  establishes  missions  among  the  poor,  it 
endows  schools.  .  .  .  But  all  these  remedies  are 
partial  and  palliative  merely.  .  .  .  Our  healing  is 
not  in  the  storm  or  in  the  whirlwind,  it  is  not  in  mon- 
archies, or  aristocracies,  or  democracies,  but  will  be  re- 
vealed by  the  still  small  voice  that  speaks  to  the  con- 
science and  the  heart,  prompting  us  to  a  wider  and 
wiser  humanity. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1895 

By  Booker  T.  Washington^^ 

To  those  of  the  white  race  who  look  to  the  incoming 
of  those  of  foreign  birth  and  strange  tongue  and  habits 
for  the  prosperity  of  the  South,  were  I  permitted  I 
would  repeat  what  I  say  to  my  own  race,  "Cast  down 
your  bucket  where  you  are.'*  Cast  it  down  among  the 
eight  millions  of  N^roes  whose  habits  you  know, 
whose  fidelity  and  love  you  have  tested  in  days  when 
to  have  proved  treacherous  meant  the  ruin  of  your  fire- 
sides. Cast  down  your  bucket  among  these  people  who 
have,  without  strikes  and  labor  wars,  tilled  your  fields, 

^^This  notable  passage  from  Booker  T.  Washington's  best  known 
address,  delivered  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  1895,  is  rich  in  devotion, 
earnestness,  and  co-operation.  It  breathes,  not  the  spirit  of  superior- 
ity, scorn,  race  hatred,  but  the  spirit  of  helping  to  bear  one  an- 
other's burdens  and  so  fulfilling  the  law  of  Christ.  It  represents  at 
his  best  the  spirit  of  the  ablest  leader  that  the  Negro  race  has  produced. 


328  Americanization 

cleared  your  forests,  builded  your  railroads  and  cities, 
and  brought  forth  treasures  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  and  helped  to  make  possible  this  magnificent 
representation  (the  Atlanta  Exposition)  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  South. 

Casting  down  your  bucket  among  my  people,  help- 
ing and  encouraging  them  as  you  are  doing  on  these 
grounds,  and  to  education  of  head,  hand,  and  heart, 
you  will  find  that  they  will  buy  your  surplus  land, 
make  blossom  the  waste  places  in  your  fields,  and  run 
your  factories.  While  doing  this,  you  can  be  sure  in 
the  future,  as  in  the  past,  that  you  and  your  families 
will  be  surrounded  by  the  most  patient,  faithful,  law- 
abiding,  and  unresentful  people  that  the  world  has 
seen.  As  we  have  proved  our  loyalty  to  you  in  the 
past,  in.  nursing  your  children,  watching  by  the  sick- 
bed of  your  mothers  and  fathers,  and  often  following 
them  with  tear-dimmed  eyes  to  their  graves,  so  in.  the 
future,  in  our  humble  way,  we  shall  stand  by  you  with 
a  devotion  that  no  foreigner  can  approach,  ready  to 
lay  down  our  lives,  if  need  be,  in  defense  of  yours, 
interlacing  our  industrial,  commercial,  civil,  and  re- 
ligious life  with  yours  in  a  way  that  shall  make  the 
interests  of  both  races  one.  In  all  things  that  are  pure- 
ly social  we  can  be  as  separate  as  the  fingers,  yet  one 
as  the  hand  in  all  things  essential  to  mutual  progress. 


Brief  State ment  of  American  Ideals  329 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1896 

By  Frankun  H.  Giddings^^ 

The  true  ethical  family  is  established,  therefore,  only 
by  the  marriage  of  a  man  and  woman  who,  in  all  sin- 
cerity, believe  that  their  union  is  justified  by  a  con- 
currence of  four  things,  namely :  an  unmistakable  af- 
fection, compounded  about  equally  of  passion,  admir- 
ation, and  resi>ect;  physical  fitness  for  parenthood; 
ability  to  maintain  a  respectable  and  pleasant  home; 
and  a  high  sense  of  the  privilege  and  the  duty  of  trans- 
mitting their  qualities  and  their  culture  to  their  chil- 
dren. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1899 

By  William  Jennings  Bryan^* 

Civil  and  religious  liberty,  universal  education  and 
the  right  to  participate,  directly  or  through  represen- 
tatives chosen  by  himself,  in  all  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment —  these  give  to  the  American  citizen  an  oppor- 
tunity and  an  inspirati4>n  which  can  be  found  nowhere 
else.     .     .     . 

-^The  strength  of  the  United  States  has  rested  partially  in  the 
purity  of  its  family  life.  High  moral  principles,  borne  of  religious 
motives,  have  produced  a  unique  marriage  ideal,  which  is  no- 
where better  stated  than  by  the  distinguished  sociologist,  Franklin  H. 
Giddings. 

^*The  eminent  commoner,  and  champion  of  many  moral  causes, 
such  as  prohibition,  woman  suffrage,  peace,  long  before  these  subjects 
were  popular,  has  given  in  this  excerpt  the  three-fold  strength  of  the 
nation  and  made  the  "second  commandment"  the  chief  ideal  of  the 
future. 


330  Americanization 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization  has  taught  the  individual 
to  protect  his  own  rights;  American  civilization  will 
teach  him  to  respect  the  rights  of  others. 

Anglo-Saxon  civilization  has  taught  the  individual 
to  take  care  of  himself;  American  civilization,  pro- 
claiming the  equality  of  all  before  the  law,  will  teach 
him  that  his  own  highest  good  requires  the  observance 
of  the  commandment :  ''Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself." 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1900 
By  John  Dewey^^ 

The  obvious  fact  is  that  our  social  life  has  undergone 
a  thorough  and  radical  change.  If  our  education  is  to 
have  any  meaning  for  life,  it  must  pass  through  an 
equally  complete  transformation.  .  .  .  The  intro- 
duction of  active  occupations,  of  nature  study,  of  ele- 
mentary science,  of  art,  of  history,  the  relegatioh  of 
the  merely  symbolic  and  formal  to  a  secondary  position, 
the  change  in  the  moral  atmosphere,  in  the  relation 
of  pupils  and  teachers  — of  discipline ;  the  introduction 
of  more  active,  expressive,  and  self-directing  factors 
—  all  these  are  not  mere  accidents,  they  are  necessities 
of  the  larger  social  evolution. 

To  do  this  means  to  make  each  one  of  our  schools 
an   embryonic   community   life,   active   with   types   of 

^^Education  has  ever  been  a  leading  American  ideal.  At  first,  it 
was  of  the  traditional  type,  but  in  recent  decades,  social  education 
has  come  forward.  John  Dewey  has  ably  shown  how  fundamental 
social  processes  have  given  a  new  trend  to  the  American  educational 
ideal. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  331 

occupations  that  reflect  the  Hfe  of  the  larger  society, 
and  permeated  throughout  with  the  spirit  of  art,  his- 
tory, and  science.  When  the  school  introduces  and 
trains  each  child  of  society  into  membership  within 
such  a  little  community,  saturating  him  with  the  spirit 
of  service,  and  providing  him  with  the  instruments  of 
effective  self-direction,  we  shall  have  the  deepest  and 
best  guarantee  of  a  larger  society  which  is  worthy, 
lovely,  and  harmonious. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1905 

By  Theodore  Rogsevelt^^ 

Much  has  been  given  to  us,  and  much  will  rightfully 
be  expected  from  us.  We  have  duties  to  others  and 
duties  to  ourselves;  and  we  can  shirk  neither.  We 
have  become  a  great  nation,  forced  by  the  fact  of  its 
greatness  into  relations  with  other  nations  of  the  earth ; 
and  we  must  behave  as  beseems  a  people  with  such 
responsibilities.  Toward  all  other  nations,  large  and 
small,  our  attitude  must  be  one  of  cordial  and  sincere 
friendship.  We  must  show,  not  only  in  our  words, 
but  in  our  deeds,  th?rt  we  are  earnestly  desirous  of 
securing  their  good-will  by  acting  toward  them  in  a 
spirit  of  just  and  generous  recognition  of  all  their 
rights.     But  justice  and  generosity  in  a  nation,  as  in 

^^Hard-hearted,  common-sense  Americanism  never  had  an  abler 
exponent  than  Theodore  Roosevelt.  He  freely  cut  loose  from  con- 
ventions of  the  past  that  had  become  useless;  he  wasted  no  time 
in  seeking  ideals  that  were  too  far  ahead  to  be  realized  in  his  day. 
He  stood  fearlessly  for  methods  of  solving  all  problems  on  the  basis 
of  "the  square  deal"  to  all  parties  alike,  as  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
accompanying  excerpt  from  the  inaugural  address  of  March  4,  190S. 


332  Americanisation 

an  individual,  count  most  when  shown,  not  by  the 
weak,  but  by  the  strong.  While  ever  careful  to  refrain 
from  wronging  others,  we  must  be  no  less  insistent 
that  we  are  not  wronging  ourselves.  We  wish  peace; 
but  we  wish  the  peace  of  justice,  the  peace  of  right- 
eousness. We  wish  it  because  we  think  it  is  right 
and  not  because  we  are  afraid.  No  weak  nation  that 
acts  manfully  and  justly  should  ever  have  cause  to  fear 
us,  and  no  strong  power  should  ever  be  able  to  single 
us  out  as  a  subject  for  insolent  aggression. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1909 
By  Jane  Addams^^ 

All  of  us  forget  how  very  early  we  are  in  the  exper- 
iment of  founding  self-government  in  this  trying  cli- 
mate of  America,  and  that  we  are  making  the  experi- 
ment in  the  most  materialistic  period  of  all  history, 
having  as  our  court  of  last  appeal  against  that  ma- 
terialism only  the  wonderful  and  inexplicable  instinct 
for  justice  which  resides  in  the  hearts  of  men, —  which 
is  never  so  resistible  as  when  the  heart  is  young. 

We  may  listen  to  the  young  voices  rising  clear  above 
the  roar  of  industrialism  and  the  prudent  councils  of 
commerce,  or  we  may  become  hypnotized  by  the  sud- 
den new  emphasis  placed  upon  wealth  and  power,  and 
forget  the  supremacy  of  spiritual  forces  in  men's  af- 
fairs.    It  is  as  if  we  ignored  a  wistful,  over-confident 

2'^The  child  is  an  American  ideal.  It  is  usually  a  woman  who 
works  the  most  patiently  in  behalf  of  the  American  child.  Jane 
Addams,  recently  called  Saint  Jane  Addams,  has  spoken  in  behalf  of 
many  social  forces  in  deeds  as  well  as  words,  but  never  more  effec- 
tively than  in  behalf  of  the  spirit  of  Youth. 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  333 

creature  who  walked  through  our  city  streets  calling 
out,  "I  am  the  spirit  of  Youth!  With  me,  all  things 
are  possible!"  We  fail  to  understand  what  he  wants 
or  even  to  see  his  doings,  although  his  acts  are  preg- 
nant with  meaning,  and  we  may  either  translate  them 
into  a  sordid  chronicle  of  petty  vice  or  turn  them  into 
a  solemn  school  for  civic  righteousness. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  191 2 
By  Theodore  Roosevelt^* 

A  good  constitution,  and  good  laws  under  the  Con- 
stitution, and  fearless  and  upright  officials  to  admin- 
ister the  laws  —  all  these  are  necessary ;  but  the  prime 
requisite  in  our  national  life  is,  and  must  always  be, 
the  possession  by  the  average  citizen  of  the  right  kind 
of  character.  Our  aim  must  be  the  moralization  of 
the  individual,  of  the  government,  of  the  people  as  a 
whole. 

We  desire  the  mT^alization  not  only  of  political 
conditions  but  of  industrial  conditions,  so  that  every 
force  in  the  community,  individual  and  collective,  may 
be  directed  towards  securing  for  the  average  man,  and 
average  woman,  a  higher  and  better  and  fuller  life,  in 
the  things  of  the  body  no  less  than  those  of  the  mind 
and  the  soul. 

^^Here  the  three  outstanding  points  are  (1)  the  importance  of 
moral  character;  (2)  the  necessity  for  industrial  justice,  and  (3)  the 
significance  of  keeping  opportunities  open  for  self  development  to  all 


334  Americanization     ^ 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1915 
By  Woodrow  Wilson^^ 

My  urgent  advice  to  you  would  be,  not  only  always 
to  think  first  of  America;  but  always,  also,  to  think 
first  of  humanity.  You  do  not  love  humanity  if  you 
seek  to  divide  humanity  into  jealous  camps.  Human- 
ity can  be  welded  together  only  by  love,  by  sympathy, 
by  justice,  not  by  jealousy  and  hatred.     .     .     . 

Americans  must  have  a  consciousness  different  from 
the  consciousness  of  every  other  nation  in  the  world. 
I  am  riot  saying  this  with  even  the  slightest  thought 
of  criticism  of  other  nations.  You  know  how  it  is 
with  a  family.  A  family  gets  centered  on  itself  if  it 
is  not  careful  and  is  less  interested  in  the  neighbors 
than  it  is  in  its  own  members.  So  a  nation  that  is  not 
constantly  renewed  out  of  new  sources  is  apt  to  have 
the  narrowness  and  prejudice  of  a  family;  whereas 
America  must  have  this  consciousness,  that  on  all  sides 
it  touches  elbows  and  touches  hearts  with  all  nations 
of  mankind.     .     .     . 

America  has  a  great  cause  which  is  not  confined  to 
the  American  continent.  It  is  the  cause  of  humanity 
itself.     .     .     . 

I  would  not  feel  any  exhilaration  in  belonging  to 
America  if  I  did  not  feel  that  she  was  something  more 
than  a  rich  and  powerful  nation.  I  should  not  feel 
proud  to  be  in  some  respects  and  for  a  little  while 

2®In  these  selections  from  the  address  on  May  10,  1915,  to  recently 
naturalized  citizens  in  Philadelphia,  and  from  the  address  on  October 
11,  191 S,  to  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  President  Wilson  has  visualized  the  place  of  the  United 
States  in  a  unity  of  the  nations. 


Brief  Staiement  of  American  Ideals  335 

her  spokesman  if  I  did  not  believe  that  there  was  some- 
thing else  than  physical  force  behind  her.  I  believe 
that  the  glory  of  America  is  that  she  is  a  great  spiritual 
conception  and  that  in  the  spirit  of  her  institutions 
dwells  not  only  her  distinction  but  her  power.  The 
one  thing  that  the  world  can  not  permanently  resist  is 
the  moral  force  of  great  and  triumphant  convictions. 


AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  191 5 

By  Theodore  Roosevelt^® 

Therefore,  we  should  devote  ourselves  as  a  prepara- 
tive to  preparedness,  alike  in  peace  and  war,  to  secure 
the  three  elemental  things ;  one  a  common  language,  the 
English  language;  two,  the  increase  in  our  social  loy- 
alty—  citizenship  absolutely  undivided,  a  citizenship 
which  acknowledges  no  flag  except  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  and  which  emphatically  repudiates  all 
duality  of  intention  or^riational  loyalty;  and  three,  an 
intelligent  and  resolute  effort  for  the  removal  of  in- 
dustrial and  social  unrest,  an  effort  which  shall  aim 
equally  to  securing  every  man  his  rights  and  to  make 
every  man  understand  that  unless  he  in  good  faith  per- 
forms his  duties  he  is  not  entitled  to  any  rights  at  all. 

^*^In  his  last  years,  Roosevelt's  nationalism  became  intensified. 
Roosevelt  became  tremendously  interested  in  seeing  his  native  country 
become  unified  and  strong  and  courageous.  The  formula  that  is 
given  here  is  taken  from  his  Knights  of  Columbus  speech  on  October 
12,  1915. 


336  Antericanhation 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  1917 
By  Woodrow  Wilson^^ 

We  are  glad,  now  that  we  see  the  facts  with  no  veil 
of  false  pretense  about  them,  to  fight  thus  for  the  ulti- 
mate peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation  of  its 
peoples  —  the  German  people  included  —  for  the  rights 
of  nations  great  and  small  and  the  privilege  of  men 
everywhere  to  choose  their  way  of  life  and  of  obe- 
dience. 

The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy.  Its 
peace  must  be  planted  upon  the  trusted  foundations 
of  political  liberty. 

We  have  no  selfish  ends  to  serve.  We  desire  no 
conquest,  no  dominion.  We  seek  no  indemnities  for 
ourselves,  no  material  compensation  for  the  sacrifices 
we  shall  freely  make.  We  are  but  one  of  the  cham- 
pions of  the  rights  of  mankind.  We  shall  be  satis- 
fied when  those  rights  have  been  made  secure  as  the 
faith  and  the  freedom  of  the  nation  can  make  them. 

Just  because  we  fight  without  rancor  and  without 
selfish  objects,  seeking  nothing  for  ourselves  but  wh??t 
we  shall  wush  to  share  with  all  free  peoples,  we  shall, 
I  feel  confident,  conduct  our  operations  as  belligerents 
without  passion  and  ourselves  observe  w^ith  proud 
punctilio  the  principles  of  right  and  of  fair  play  we 
profess  to  be  fighting  for.     .     .     . 

^^The  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  European  War  brought 
forth  from  President  Wilson  the  most  unselfish  statement  of  national 
principles  that  any  large  nation  had  yet  declared.  The  accompanying 
selection  will  be  recognized  at  once  as  a  part  of  the  address  on 
April  2,  1917,  and  gives  the  setting  of  the  famous  ideal,  "The  world 
must  be  made  safe  for  democracy." 


Brief  Statement  of  American  Ideals  337 

But  the  right  is  more  precious  than  peace,  and  we 
shall  fight  for  the  things  which  we  have  always  car- 
ried nearest  our  hearts  —  for  democracy,  for  the  right 
of  those  who  submit  to  authority  to  have  a  voice  in 
their  own  governments,  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
small  nations,  for  a  universal  dominion  of  right  by 
such  a  concert  of  free  peoples  as  shall  bring  peace 
and  safety  to  all  nations  and  make  the  world  itself  at 
last  free. 

To  such  a  task  we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and  our 
fortunes,  everything  that  we  are  and  everything  that 
we  have,  with  the  pride  of-  those  who  know  that  the 
day  has  come  when  America  is  privileged  to  spend  her 
blood  and  her  might  for  the  principles  that  gave  her 
birth  and  happiness  and  the  peace  which  she  has  treas- 
ured.    God  helping  her,  she  can  do  no  other. 

AMERICAN  IDEALS  IN  19 18  AND  1919 

By  Woodrow  Wilson^^ 

There  is  a  great  voice  of  humanity  abroad  in  the 
world  just  now  which  he  who  cannot  hear  is  deaf. 
There  is  a  great  compiltsion  of  the  common  conscience 
now  in  existence  which  if  any  statesman  resist  will 
gain  for  him  the  most  unenviable  eminence  in  his- 
tory. We  are  not  obeying  the  mandate  of  parties 
or  of  politics.  We  are  obeying  the  mandate  of  hu- 
manity.    .     .     . 

^^These  selections  are  chosen  from  the  address  of  President  Wilson 
in  Free  Trade  Hall,  Manchester,  England  (December  30,  1918),  and 
from  the  address  before  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  Rome  (January 
3,  1919).  In  the  speech  in  Rome,  there  occurs  the  world-significant 
ideal :    "Our  task    .    .     .    is  to  organize  the  friendship  of  the  world." 


338  'Am  eric  an  izatio  n 

Friendship  must  have  a  machinery.  If  I  cannot 
correspond  with  you,  if  I  cannot  learn  your  minds, 
if  I  cannot  co-operate  with  you,  I  cannot  be  your 
friend,  and  if  the  world  is  to  remain  a  body  of  friends 
it  must  have  the  means  of  friendship,  the  means  of 
constant  friendly  intercourse,  the  means  for  constant 
watchfulness  over  the  common  interests.  That  makes 
it  necessary  to  make  some  great  effort  to  have 
with  one  another  an  easy  and  constant  method  of 
conference  so  that  troubles  may  be  taken  when  they 
are  little  and  not  allowed  to  grow  until  they  are 
big.     ... 

There  is  only  one  thing  that  holds  nations  together, 
if  you  exclude  force,  and  that  is  friendship  and  good 
will.  Therefore,  our  task  at  Paris  is  to  organize  the 
friendship  of  the  world  —  to  see  to  it  that  all  the  moral 
forces  that  make  for  right  and  justice  and  liberty  are 
united,  and  are  given  a  vital  organization  to  which 
the  peoples  of  the  world  will  readily  and  gladly  re- 
spond  

We  know  that  there  cannot  be  another  balance  of 
power.  That  has  been  tried  and  found  wanting,  for 
the  best  of  all  reasons  that  it  does  not  stay  balanced 
inside  itself. 

Therefore,  there  must  be  something  substituted  for 
the  balance  of  power,  and  I  am  happy  to  find  every- 
where in  the  air  of  these  nations  the  conception  that 
that  thing  must  be  a  thoroughly  united  League  of 
Nations. 


APPENDIX   B 

SELECTED  READINGS 

I.     AMERICANISM  (Chapters  II,  III,  IV,  V) 

Abbott,  Lyman,  America  in  the  Making,  Yale  Univer- 
sity Press:  191 1. 

Brooks,  J.  G.,  As  Others  See  Us,  Macmillan :  1909. 

Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  Vol.  II, 
Chs.  CI,  CII,  CXIV,  Macmillan:  1910. 

Butler,  N.  M.,  The  American  As  He  Is,  Macmillan: 
1908. 

Croly,  Herbert,  The  Promise  of  American  Life,  Mac- 
millan :  1909. 
Progressive  Democracy,  Macmillan:  19 14. 

Davis,  Philip,  compiler.  Immigration  and  Americani- 
zation, Ginn :  1920. 

d'Estournelles  de  Constant,  P.  H.  B.,  America  and  Her 
Problems,  Macmillan:  1915. 

de  Tocqueville,  Alexis,  Democracy  in  America,  Colo- 
nial Press:  1918.  ^ 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  'The  Fortune  of  the  Republic,"  and 
other  essays. 

Foerster,  M.,  and  W.  W.  Pierson,  Jr.,  editors,  Amer- 
ican Ideals,  Houghton  Mifflin:  19 17. 

Francis,  H.,  Americans,  Melrose,  London :  1909. 

Hall,  P.  F.,  'The  Future  of  American  Ideals,'^  No\rth 
Amer.  Rev.,  195:  94-102, 

Hart,  A.  B.,  National  Ideals  Historically  Traced,  Vol. 
26,  Amer.  Nation  Series,  Harper:  1907. 


340  Americanization 

Hill,  D.  J.,  Americanism:  What  It  Is,  Appleton:  1916. 

Hillis,  N.  D.,  The  Fortune  of  the  Republic,  Revell: 
1916. 

Kallen,  H.  M.,  "The  Meaning  of  Americanism,"  Im- 
migrants in  America  Rev.,  1:12-19. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  presidential  addresses. 

Low,  A.  Maurice,  America  at  Home,  Scribner:  1908. 

The   American   People,   Houghton    Mifflin: 

1909. 

Mabie,  H.  W.,  American  Ideals,  Macmillan:  1913. 

Marti neau,  Harriet,  Society  in  America,  Saunders  and 
Otley,  London:  1837. 

Miinsterberg,  Hugo,  The  Twentieth  Century  Ameri- 
can, Putnam:  1908. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  American  Ideals,  Putnam:  1901. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  Changing  America,  Century:  19 12. 
What  Is  America?  Century:  1919. 

Small,  A.  W.,  editor,  "What  Is  Americanism?"  Amer. 
Jour,  of  Sociology,  XX:  433-86,  613-28. 

Tufts,  J.  H.,  Our  Democracy,  Holt:  191 7. 

Talbot,  Winthrop,  Americanization,  Wilson:  19 17. 

Tolstoy,  Ilya,  "My    Impressions    of    America,"  Cen- 
tury, 94:  417-20. 

Smart,  G.  T.,  The  Temper  of  the  American  People, 
Pilgrim  Pr.,  19 12. 

Turner,  F.  J.,  "Contributions  of  the  West  to  American 
Democracy,"  Atlantic  Mon.,  91 :38-96. 
The  Significance  of  the  Frontier  in  Ameri- 
can Life,  Univ.  of  Chicago  Press;  n.  d. 

Usher,  R.  G.,  The  Rise  of  the  American  People,  Cen- 
tury:   1 91 4. 

Van  Dyke,  Henry,  The  Spirit  of  America,  Macmillan : 
1910.  r 


Selected  Readings  341 

Wells,  H.  G.,  The  Future  of  America,  Harper :  1906. 
Wendell,    Barrett,    Liberty,    Union,   and   Democracy, 

Scribner:  1906. 
Weyl,  Walter,  The  New  Democracy,  Macmillan :  191 2. 
Wilson,   Woodrow,    The  New  Freedom,   Doiibleday, 

Page:  1914. 

2.    The  RACIAL  HISTORY  OF  AMERICANISM 

(Chapter  VI) 

Commons,  J.  R.,  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America j 
Macmillan:  1908. 

Fairchild,  H.  P.,  Immigration,  Macmillan:  1913. 

Grosvenor,  E.  A.,  "The  Races  of  Europe,"  National 
Geographic  Mag.,  XXXIV  144 1-534. 

Hall,  P.  P.,  Immigration,  Holt:  1908. 

Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of,  Vol.  III.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Immigration,  Commissioner  General  of,  Annual  Re- 
.    ports,  Washington,  D.  C. 

3.     THE  AMERICAN  INDIAN 
(Chapter  VIII) 

Barrows,  N.,  The  Indian's  Side  of  the  Indian  Ques- 
tion, Lothrop:  1887. 

Blackmar,  F.  W.,  "Indian  Education,"  Annals,  II: 
342-60. 

813-37- 
de  Tocqueville,    Alexis,    Democracy    in    America,    I : 


342  Americanization 

Eastman,  C.  A.,  The  Soul  of  the  Indian,  Houghton 
Mifflin:  191 1. 

The  Indian  Today,  Doubleday,  Page:  19 15. 

Flynn,  A.  J.,  The  American  Indian,  Little,  Brown: 
1907. 

Grinnell,  G.  B.,  The  Indians  of  Today,  Duffield:  191 1. 
The  Story  of  the  Indian,  Appleton:  19 15. 

Hailmann,  W.  N.,  "Education  of  the  Indian,"  in  N. 
M.  Butler's,  Education  in  the  United  States,  II; 
937-72. 

Houghton,  Louise  S.,  Our  Debt  to  the  Red  Man,  Strat- 
ford Co. :  191 8. 

Humphrey,  S.  K.,  The  Indian  Dispossessed,  Little, 
Brown:  1905. 

Jackson,  H.  H.,  A  Century  of  Dishonor,  Roberts  (Bos- 
ton) :  1887. 

Leupp,  F.  E.,  The  Indian  and  His  Problem,  Scribner : 
1910. 

McKenzie,  F.  A.,  "The  Assimilation  of  the  American 
Indian,"  Amer.  Jour,  of  Sociology,  XIX :  761-72. 

Morgan,  T.  J.,  Indian  Education,  Bui.  of  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education,  1889. 

Parker,  A.  C,  "Making  Democracy  Safe  for  the  In- 
dians," Amer.  Indian  Mag.,  VI :  2^-2g. 

Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Society  of  American  Indians. 

Reports  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Annual. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  Report  of,  Indian  Rights  Assoc, 

1893. 
Walker,  Francis  A.,  The    Indian    Question,  Osgood 
(Boston)  :  1874. 


Selected  Readings  343 

4.     THE   AMERICAN    NEGRO 
(Chapter  IX) 

Bailey,  T.  P.,  Race  Orthodoxy  hi  the  South,  Nealse 
(New  York)  :  1914. 

Baker,  Ray  S.,  Following  the  Color  Line,  Doubleday, 
Page:  1908. 

Bowen,  Louise  de  Koven,  "The  Colored  People  of  Chi- 
cago," Survey,  31:  117-20. 

Brawley,  B.  G.,  A  Short  History  of  the  American  Ne- 
gro, Macmillan:  1901. 

The  Negro  in  Literature  and  Art,  Duffield: 

1918. 

Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  Vol.  II, 
Chs.  XCIV,  XCV. 

Commons,  J.  R.,  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America, 
Ch.  Ill,  Macmillan:   1908. 

de  Tocqueville,  Alexis,  Democracy  in  America,  i  :337, 
361-87. 

Dowd,  Jerome,  Negro  Races,  Macmillan:  1907,  1914. 

DuBois,  W.  E.  B.,  The  Negro,  Holt:  1915. 

The  Philadelphia  Negro,  Univ.  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, n.  d.  * 

The  Soul  of  Black  Folks,  McClurg:  1903. 

Darkwater,  Harcourt,  Brace  &  Hope,   19 19. 


Edwards,  W.  J.,  Twenty-five  Years  in  the  Black  Belt, 
Cornhill  Co. :  19 19. 

Eggleston,  Edward,  The  Ultimate  Solution  of  the  Ne- 
gro Problem,  Badger:  1913. 

Ellis,  G.  W.,  Negro  Social  Life  and  Culture  in  Africa, 
Neale:  1914. 


344  Americanization 

'The  Negro  and  the  War  for  Democracy,' 


Jour,  of  Race  Development,  8 :  439-53. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  The  Southern  South,  Appleton:  1910. 
Haynes,  G.  E.,  "Negro  Labor  and  the  New  Order," 

National  Conf.  of  Social  Work,  1919,  531-38. 
Howard,  G.  E.,  "The  Social  Cost  of  Southern  Race 

Prejudice,"  Amer .  Jour,    of    Sociology,    XXU : 

577-93- 
Johnson,  James  W.,  "The  Changing  Status  of  Negro 

Labor,"  National  Conf.  of  Social  Work,   1918: 

383-B8. 
Jones,  T.  J.,  Recent  Progress  in  Negro  Education,  U. 

S.  Bureau  of  Education,  BuL,  19 19,  No.  27. 
Mecklin,  J.  F.,  Democracy  and  Race  Friction,  Mac- 

millan:  1914. 
Miller,  Kelly,  Race  Adjustment,  Neale:  1908. 

Appeal  to  Conscience,  Macmillan:  1918. 

Miinsterberg,  Hugo,  The  Americans,  pp.  167-84,  Mc- 

Clure,  Phillips:  1914. 
Murphy,  E.  G.,  The  Present  South  and  the  Basis  of 

Ascendency,  Longmans,  Green :  1909. 
Negro  Year  Book,  annual,  Tuskegee,  Ga. 
Odum,  H.  W.,  Social  and  Mental  Traits  of  the  Negro, 

Columbia  University:  1910. 
Page,  Thomas  N.,  The  Negro :  The  Southerners  Prob- 
lem, Scribner:  1914. 
Reuter,  E.  B.,  "The  Superiority  of  the  Mulatto,"  Amer. 

Jour,  of  Sociology,  23  :  83-106. 
The  Mulatto  in  the  United  States,  Badger: 

1918. 
Scott,  E.  J.,  and  L.  B.  Stowe,  Booker  T.  Washington, 

Builder  of  a  Civilization,  Doubleday,  Page:  19 16. 


Selected  Readings  345 

Sinclair,  W.   A.,   The  Aftermath  of  Slavery,  Small, 
Maynard:  1905. 

Stephenson,  G.  T.,  Race  Distinctions  in  American  Law, 
Appleton:  1910. 

Stone,  A.  H.,  The  American  Race  Problem,  Double- 
day,  Page:  1908. 

Thomas,  W.  H.,  The  American  Negro,    Macmillan: 
1901. 

Washington,  Booker  T.,  Up  From  Slavery,  Burt :  1900. 

The  Story  of  the  Negro,  Doubleday,  Page: 

1901. 

■The  Future  of  the  American  Negro,  Small, 


Maynard:  1907. 
Weale,  B.  L.  P.,  The  Conflict  of  Colour,  Chap.  IV, 

Macmillan:  1910. 
Weather  ford,  W.  D.,  "Race  Segregation  in  the  Rural 

South,"  Survey,  33 :  37S-77- 
Wolfe,  A.  B.  (editor),  Readings  in  Social  Problems, 

Bk.  V,  Ginn:  191 6. 
Wright,  R.  R.,  Jr:,  "What  Does  the  Negro  Want  in 

Our  Democracy,"  National  Conf.  of  Social  Work, 

1919:  539-45- 

5.     THE  MOUNTAINEER 
(Chapter  X). 

"American  Backwater,"  Blackwood's,  190:  355-66. 

"Backwynds  of  the  Blue  Ridge,"  Blackwood's,  192: 
786-96. 

Bradely,  W.  A.,  "In  Shakespeare's  America,"  Har- 
per's Mag.,  131:  436-45- 


346  Americanization 

Campbell,  John  C,  "Social  Betterment  in  the  Southern 
Mountains,"  Nat'l  Conf.  of  Char,  and  Corr.,  1909, 

Campbell,  Olive  D.,  ''Songs  and  Ballads  of  the  South- 
ern Mountains,"  Survey,  33  :  271-74. 

Campbell,  Olive  D.,  and  Cecil  J.  Sharp,  English  Folk 
Songs  From  the  Southern  Appalachians,  Putnam, 
1917. 

Daviess,  M.  T.,  "American  Backgrounds  for  Fiction: 
Tennessee,"  Bookman,  38 :  394-99. 

de  Long,  Edith,  "Far  Side  of  Pine  Mountain,"  Survey, 
37 :  627-30. 

Fox,  Jr.,  John,  The  Trail  of  the  Lonesome  Pine,  and 
similar  works  of  fiction. 

Frost,  W.  G.,  "Our  Southern  Highlanders,"  Indepen- 
dent, 72 :  708-14. 

"Our    Contemporary    Ancestors,"    Atlantic 

Mon.,  83 :  311-19. 

Haney,  W.  H.,  Mountain  People  of  Kentucky,  Outing: 

1913. 

Hartt,    Rollin,    "The    Mountains:    Our    Own    Lost 

Tribes,  Century,  95  :  395  :404. 
Hough,  Emerson,  "Burns  of  the  Mountains,"  American 

Mag;  7S'  13-20. 
Kephart,    H.,    Our   Southern    Highlanders,    Outing: 

1913. 

Klingberg,  Elizabeth  W.,  "Glimpses  of  Life  in  the  Ap- 
palachian Highlands,"  South  Atlantic  Quarterly, 
October,  19 1 5. 

MacClintock,  S.  S.,  "The  Kentucky  Mountains  and 
Their  Feuds,"  Amer,  Jour,  of  Sociology,  VK : 
1-28. 


Selected  Readings  347 

Morley,  Margaret  W.,  The  Carolina  Mountains, 
Houghton  Mifflin :  1913. 

Spaulding,  A.  W.,  The  Men  of  the  Mountains,  South- 
ern Publ.  Assoc.  (Nashville)  :  191 5. 

Thompson,  S.  H.,  The  Highlanders  of  the  South, 
Eaton  and  Mains :  1910. 

Wilson,  Samuel  T.,  l^he  Southern  Highlanders,  Pres- 
byter.    Home  Missions  (New  York)  :  19 14. 

Whitaker,  W.  C,  The  Southern  Highlands  and  High- 
landers, Church  Missions  Publ.  Co.  (Hartford, 
Conn.)  :  n.  d. 

6.     THE  NORTH  EUROPEAN 

(Chapter  XI) 

(general) 

Gehring,  A.,  Racial  Contrasts,  Putnam :  1908. 
Grant,  Madison,  The  Passing  of  the  Great  Race,  Scrib- 

ner:  1918. 
Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of,  IX:  3-134. 
Johnson,  S.  C,  A  History  of  Emigration  from  the 

United   Kingdom    to    North    America,    Button: 

1914. 
Hall,  P.  F.,  Immigration,  Chs.  Ill,  IV,  Revel! :  1913. 
Jenks  and  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Problem,  Ch.  Ill, 

Funk  and  Wagnalls  :  191 3. 
Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Chs.  I, 

II,  Revell:  1906. 

(ENGLISH) 

Boutmy,  Emile,  The  English  People,  trans,  by  E.  Eng- 
lish, Putnam:  1904. 


348  Americanization 

iSridges,  H.  J.,  On  Becoming  an  American,  Marshall 

Jones:  1919. 
Cazamain,  L.,  Modern  England,  Button:  1912. 
Collier,  Price,  England   and    the    English,    Putnam: 

1901. 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  English  T\raits,  Houghton  Mifflin: 
1886. 

( SCOTCH-IRISH )    - 

Bolton,    C.    K.,   Scotch   Irish   Pioneers,    Bacon   and 

Brown,  1910. 
Ford,  H.  J.,  The  Scotch-Irish  in  America,  Princeton 

Univ.  Press:  19 15. 
Hanna,  C.  A.,  The  Scotch-Irish,  Putnam :  1902. 
Henderson,  T.  F.,  and  F.  Watt,  Scotland  of  Today, 

Methuen,  London:  191 1. 
Murray,  R.  H.,  "The  Evolution  of  the  Ulsterman," 

Quarterly  Rev.,  220:  96-115. 

( IRISH) 

Begbie,  Harold,  The  Happy  Irish,  Doran :  n.  d. 
Casson,  Herbert,  "The  Irish  in  America,"  North  Amer. 

Rev.,  XXXV :  86. 
Jones,  P.  F.,  Shamrock  Land,  Moffat,  Yard:  1909. 
Hackett,  Francis,  Ireland:  A  Study  in  Nationalism, 

Huebsch:  1918. 
Lynd,  Robert,  Home  Life  in  Ireland,  McClurg:  1909. 
Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Old  Wofld  in  the  Nezv,  Chap.  H, 

Century:  1914. 
"The  Irish  in  America,"  North  Amer.  Rev.,  52:  191- 

234  (1841). 


Selected  Readings  349 

(SCANDINAVIAN) 

Babcock,  K.  C,  The  Scandinavian  Element  in  the 
United  States,  Univ.  of  Illinois :  191 4. 

Daniels,  H.  K.,  Home  Life  in  Norway,  Macmillan: 
1911. 

Flom,  G.  T.,  ^  History  of  Norwegian  Immigration  to 
the  United  States,  Iowa  City,  la.,  1909. 

Fonkalsrud,  A.  D.,  The  Scandinavian-American,  Hol- 
ter:  1915. 

Leach,  H.  G.,  Scandinavia  of  the  Scandinavians,  Scrib- 
ner:  1915. 

Nelson,  O.  N.,  History  of  the  Scandinavians  and  Suc- 
cessful Scandinavians  in  the  United  States,  Min- 
neapolis: 1904. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  Ch.  IV,  Cen- 
tury: 19 14. 

Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Ch. 
VIII,  Revell:  1906. 

Von  Heidenstam,  G.,  Swedish  Life  in  Town  and  Coun- 
try, Putnam:  1904. 

(GERMAN) 

Casson,  Herbert,  'TJ^e  German  in  America,"  Mun- 
sey's  Magazine,  XXXIV :  694. 

Dawson,  W.  H.,  German  Life  in  Town  and  Country, 
Putnam:  1901. 

Faust,  A.  B.,  The  German  Element  in  the  United 
States,  Houghton  Mifflin:  1909. 

Foullee,  A.,  Esquisse  psychologic  des  peuples  euro- 
peens,  livre  V,  Paris :  1903. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  Ch.  Ill,  Cen- 
tury: 1912. 


350  Americanization 

Sidwick,  Mrs.  Alfred,  Home  Life  in  Germany,  Mac- 

millan:  1912. 
Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Ch. 

VII,  Revell:  1906. 
"The  German  in  North  America,"  North  Amer.  Rev., 

II:  1-19  (1820). 
Wilhams,  Hattie  P.,  A  Social  Study  of  the  Russian 

German,  Lincoln,  Nebraska:  1916. 

7.     THE  SOUTH  EUROPEAN. 
(Chapter  XII) 

(FRENCH) 

Bethan-Edwards,  M.,  Home  Life  in  France,  McClurg : 
1908. 

Brownell,  W.  C,  French  Traits,  Scribner:  1895. 

Dawbarn,  Charles,  France  and  the  French,  Macmillan : 
1911. 

Lynch,  H.,  French  Life  in  Town  and  County,  Put- 
nam: 1901. 

Wendell,  Barrett,  The  France  of  Today,  Scribner: 
1908. 

(Spanish) 

Higgin,  L.,  Spanish  Life  in  Town  and  Country,  Put- 
nam: 1902. 

Shaw,  Rafael,  Spain  from  Within^  Unwin,  London: 
1 910. 

(ITALIAN) 

Bagot,  Richard,  Italians  of  Today /Browne,  Chicago: 
1913- 


Selected  Readings  351 

Brandenburg,  B.,  Imported  Americans,  Stokes:  1914. 

Clark,  F.  E.,  Our  Italian  Fellow  Citizens,  Small,  May- 
nard:  1919. 

Coulter,  C.  W.,  The  Italians  of  Cleveland,  Americani- 
zation Committee,  Cleveland:   1919. 

Foerster,  R.  F.,  The  Italian  Emigration  of  Our  Times, 
Harvard  Econ.  Studies:  1919. 

Fouillee,  A.,  Esquisse  psychologic  des  peuples  euro- 
peens,  livre  II,  Paris :  1903. 

Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of,  Vol.  IV,  Part  II. 

King,  B.,  and  T.  Okey,  Italy  Today,  Nisbet,  London: 
1909. 

Lord,  E.,  and  others.  The  Italians  in  America,  1905. 

Norton,  G.  P.,  "Two  Italian  Districts,"  Amer.  lour, 
of  Sociology,  18:  509-42. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  Ch.  V.,  Cen- 
tury: 1914. 

Sartorio,  H.  C,  Social  and  Religious  Life  of  Italians 
in  America,  Christopher  Publ.  House:  1918. 

Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Chs. 
XVII,  XVIII,  Revell:  1906. 

Vivian,  Herbert,  'The  Italian  Temperament,"  Fort- 
nightly Rev.,  104^  557-67. 

Zimmern,  Helen,  Italy  of  the  Italians,  Scribner:  1913. 

(greek) 

Abbott,  Grace,  "A  Study  of  the  Greeks  in  Chicago," 
Amer.  lour,  of  Sociology,  XV :  379-93. 

Burgess,  Thomas,  Greeks  in  America,  Sherman, 
French :  1913. 

Fairchild,  H.  P.,  Greek  Immigration  to  the  United 
States,  Yale  Univ.  Press:  191 1. 


352  Americanization 

Ferriman,  Z.  D.,  Greece  and  the  Greeks,  Pott,  New 

York:  1910. 
Fouillee,  A.,  Esquisse  phychologie  des  peuples  euro- 

peean,  livre  I,  Paris:  1903. 
Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of,  Vol.  IV,  Part  V. 
Steiner,  E.  A.,  ''On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,"  Ch. 

XIX,  Revell:  1906. 
Walker,  N.,  "Greeks  and  Italians  in  the  Neighborhood 

of  Hull  House,"  Amer.  Jour,  of  Sociology,  XXI : 

285-316. 

8.     THE  SLAVIC  IMMIGRANT 
(Chapter  XIII) 

Almy,  Frederic,  "The  Huddled  Poles  of  Buffalo," 
Siifvey,  25 :  767-71. 

Bailey,  W.  B.,  ''Slavs  of  the  War  Zone,  Dutton:  1916. 

Balch,  E.  G.,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  Charities 
Pub.  Committee:  19 10. 

Baring,  M.,  The  Russian  People,  Doran:   191 1. 

Benda,  W.  T.,  "Life  of  a  Polish  Mountain  Village," 
Century,  LXXVI :  323-32. 

Bicknell,  Ernest  P.,  "The  Battlefield  of  Poland,"  Sur- 
vey, 37:  231-36,  398-402. 

Capek,  Thomas,  The  Czechs  in  America,  Houghton 
Mifflin:   1919. 

Commons,  J.  R.,  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America, 
pp.  70-78,  Macmillan:   1908. 

Coulter,  C.  W.,  The  Poles  of  Cleveland,  Americaniza- 
tion Committee,  Cleveland:  1919. 

Fouillee,  A.,  Esquisse  psychologic  des  peuples  curo- 
peens,  livre  VI,  Paris :  1903. 


Selected  Readings  353 

Gardner,  M.  M.,  Poland,  a  Study  in  National  Idealism, 

Scribner:  19 16. 
Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of,  Vol.  IV,  Pts. 

II,  IV. 
Kennard,  H.  P.,  The    Rnssian    Peasant,  Lippincott: 

1908. 
Krnszka,  X.  W.,  Historya  Polska  m  Ameryce,  8  vols., 

Kuryer  Press  (Milwaukee)  :  1905- 1906. 
Ledbetter,    Eleanor    F.,    The    Slovaks    of    Cleveland, 

Cleveland  Americanization  Committee:  1918. 
Miller,  Henry  A.,  "The  Bulwark  of  Freedom,"  Stir- 

vey,  Oct.  5,  1918,  5-10;  Nov.  2,  1918,  1 17-120. 
Miniter,  Mrs.  Edith,  Our  Natupski  Neighbors,  Holt; 

1910. 
Monroe,  W.  S.,  Bohemia  and  the  Czechs,  Page:  1910. 
Palmer,  F.  H.  E.,  Rnssian  Life  in  Toivn  and  Country, 

Putnam:  191 1. 
Anstro-Hnngorian  Life  in  Town  and  Coun- 
try, Putnam:  1903. 
Phillips,  W.  A.,  Poland,  Holt:  1915. 
Rappuport,  A.  S.,  Home  Life  in  Russia,  Macmillan, 

1913- 
Ross,  E.  A.,  Russia  in  Upheaval,  Century:  1918. 

The  Old  World  in  the  Nezi\  Chap.  VI,  Cen- 
tury: 1914. 

Sokoloff,  Lillian,  ''The  Russians  in  Los  Angeles," 
Univ.  of  Southern  California  Pr.  (Los  Angeles)  : 
1919. 

Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrants,  Chs. 
XII-XVI,  Revell :  1906. 

Tarnawsky,  P.,  "The  Ruthenians,"  Immigrants  in 
America  Rev.,  Jan.  19 16,  74-80. 


354  Aiiicricaiiizafioii 

Thomas,   W.   I.,   and  Florian  Znaniecki,   The  Polish 
Peasant  in  Europe  and  America,  Badger:  191 8. 
"The  Russian-Polish  Situation :  an  Experi- 
ment in  Assimilation,"  Amer.  Jour,  of  Sociology, 
XIX :  642-39. 

Townley-Fullam,  C,  *Tan-Slavism  in  America," 
Forum,  52 :  177-85. 

Van  Norman,  L.  E.,  Poland,  Revell :  1907. 

Wilson,  H.,  and  E.  Smith,  "Among  the  Slovaks  in  the 
Twentieth  Ward,"  (Chicago),  Amer.  Jour,  of  So- 
ciology, XX:  145-69. 

.10.     THE  HEBREW  IMMIGRANT 

(Chapter  XIV) 

Antin,  M.,  The  Promised  Land,  Houghton  Mifflin : 
1914. 

Bernheimer,  C.  S.,  The  Russian  Jeiv  in  the  United 
States,  Winston :  1905. 

Brill,  A.  A.,  "The  Adjustment  of  the  Jew  in  the  Amer- 
ican Environment,"  Mental  Hygiene^  11 :  219-32. 

Cohen,  I.,  Jezvish  Life  in  Modern  Times,  Dodd,  Mead : 
1914. 

Drachman,  B.,  "Anti-Jewish  Prejudice  in  America," 
Forum,  52 :  31-40. 

Dubnow,  S.  M.,  Flistory  of  the  Jeics  in  Poland,  Jewish 
Pub.  Soc.  of  America  (Philadelphia)  :  19 16. 

Evans-Gordan,  W.,  The  Alien  Immigrant,  Heinemann 
(London)  :  1903. 

Friedlander,  I.,  The  Jezvs  of  Russia  and  Poland,  Put- 
nam:  1915. 


Selected  Readings  355 

Hendrick,  Burton  J.,  "The  Jewish  Invasion  of  Amer- 
ica," McClure's,  XL:  125-165. 

Jacobs,  Joseph,  Jewish  Contributions  to  Civilization, 
Jewish  Piibl.  Co. :  1919. 

Joseph,  Samuel,  Jezvish  Immigration  to  the  United 
States,  Cokmibia  University:  1914. 

Kuh,  Edwin  J.,  "The  Social  DisabiHty  of  the  Jew," 
Atlantic  Mon.,  loi :  433-39. 

Peters,  M.  C,  The  Jczcs  in  America,  Winston:  1905. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Old  World  in  the  Nezv,  Chap.  VII, 
Century:  19 14. 

Rubinow,  I.  M.,  "The  Jews  in  Russia,"  Yale  Rev.,  15: 

147-59. 
Ruppin,  A.,  The  Jezvs  of  Today,  Holt:  1913. 
Russell,  C,  and  H.  S.  Lewis,  The  Jezvs  in  London, 

Crowell:  1901. 
Sombart,  W.,  The  Jezcs  and  Modem  Capitalism,  trans.^ 

by  M.  Epstein,,  Unwin:  1913. 
Steiner,  E.  A.,  On  the  Tfail  of  the  Immigrant,  Chs. 

IX-XI,  Revell:  1906. 

Against  the  Current,  Revell:  19 10. 

Tobenkin,  Elias,  IVitte  Arrives,  Stokes:  19 10. 
Zangwill,  Israel,  Chosen  Peoples,  Macmillan :  1919. 

10.     THE  ASIATIC  IMMIGRx\NT 
*  (Chapter  XV) 

(aRjVIENIAN.s) 

Malcolm,  M.  W.,  The  Armenians  in  America,  Pilerini 
Press:  1919. 


356  A  mericaimation 

(CHINESE   AND  EAST   INDIANS) 

"Chinese  and  Japanese  in  America,"  symposium,  An- 
nals, Vol.  34,  No.  2 :  223-432. 
Coolidge,  Mary  R.,  Chinese  Immigration^  Holt:  1901. 
Gascoyne,  Cecil  W.,  Changing  China,  Appleton:  19 12. 
Hall,  P.  F.,  Immigration,  Ch.  XV,  Holt:  1906. 
Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of.  Vol.  23. 
Jenks  and  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Pfoblem,  pp.  231- 

37,  Fmik  and  Wagnalls:  1913. 
Lynch,  Robert  N.,  'Immigration,"  Sunset  Mag.,  31; 

1144-49. 
MacGowan,  J.,  Men  and  Manners  of  Modern  China, 

Dodd,  Mead:  19 12. 
Millis,   H.  A.,  ''East  Indian  Immigration  to  British 

Columbia  and  the  Pacific  Coast  States,"  Amer. 

Econ.  Rev.,  1 :  72-76. 
Ross,  E.  A.,  The  Changing  Chinese,  Century:  191 1. 
Schreiner,  W.  P.,  "Immigrants  on  the  Pacific  Coast," 

Immigrants  in  Amer.  Rev.,  1 :  80-83. 
Weale,  B.  L.  P.,  The  Conflict  of  Coloiir,  Ch.  II,  Mac- 

millan :  19 10. 

(JAPANESE) 

Abbott,  J.  P.,  lapanese  Expansion  and  American  Pol- 
icies, Macmillan:  19 16.    • 

"Chinese  and  Japanese  in  America,"  symposium.  An- 
nals, Vol.  34,  No.  2  (pp.  223-423). 

Gulick,  S.  L.,  The  American  Japanese  Problem,  Scribe 
ner:  1914. 
American  Democracy  and  Japanese  Citizen- 
ship, Scribner:  1918. 

Immigration   Commission,   Reports  of.  Vols.   XXIII- 
XXV. 


Selected  Readings  357 

Kawakami,  K.  K.,  American  Japanese  Relalions,  Re- 
vell:  1912. 

Asia  at  the  Door,  Revell :  1914. 

Japan  in  World  Politics,  Macmillan  :   19 17. 

Knox,  G.  W.,  Japanese  Life  in  Tozvn  and  Country, 

Putnam :   1906. 
Longford,  J.  H.,  Japan  of  the  Japanese,  Scribner :  1912. 
Masaoka,  U.,  Japan  to  America,  Putnam:  1914. 
Millis,  H.  A.,  The  Japanese  Problem  in  the  United 

States,  Macmillan:  1915. 
Nitobe,  Inazo,  The  Japanese  Nation,  Putnam:  1912. 
Russell,  L.,  America  to  Japan,  Putnam:  1915. 
Scherer,  J.  A.  B.,  The  Japanese  Crisis,  Stokes:  1916. 
Steiner,  J.  ¥.,.The  Japanese  Invasion,  McClurg:  1917. 


II.     THE  MEXICAN   IMMIGRANT 
(Chapter  XVI) 

Enoch,  C.  R.,  Mexico,  Scribner:  1909. 

Goodrich,  J.  K.,  The  Coming  Mexico,  McClurg:  1913. 

Inman,  S.  G.,  Intervention  in  Mexico,  Association 
Press:  191 9. 

Nordhoff,  C.  B.,  "Th*  Human  Side  of  Mexico,"  At- 
lantic M  on.,  124:  502-509. 

Ronstadt,  Louise,  ''Mexican  Music,  Its  Power  and 
Charm,"  Overland  Mon.,  Feb.,  1919,  169-170. 

Spence,  Lewis,  Mexico  of  the  Mexicans,  Pitman,  Lon- 
don: 191 7. 

Starr,  Frederick,  In  Indian  Mexieo,  Forbes,  Chicago: 
1908. 

Trowbridge,  E.  D.,  Mexico,  Today  and  Tomorrozv, 
Macmillan:  1908. 


358  Ainericanlzation 

Winter,  N.  O.,  Mexico  and  Her  People  Today,  Page : 

1907. 
Winton,    G.    B.,    Mexico    Today,    Missionary    Educ. 

Movement,  New  York:  191 3. 

12.     AMERICANIZATION   (PRINCIPLES) 
(Chapters  I,  VII,  XVII,  XXI) 

Abbott,  Grace,   The  Immigrant  and  the  Community, 
Century:   19 17. 

Americanization   Conference,    Proceedings   of,    U.    S. 
Bureau  of  Education:   1919. 

Antin,  Mary,  The  Promised  Land,  Houghton  Mifflin : 
1912. 

They  Who  Knock  at  our  Gates,  Houghton 

Mifflin:  1914. 

Aronovici,    Carol,    Americanization,    Keller    Co.,  St. 
Paul :  1919. 

Berry,  Lillian  G.,  ''The  Ameficani:zation  of  America," 
Bui.,  Extension  Div.,  Indiana  Univer.,  n.  d. 

Bridges,  H.  J.,  On  Becoming  an  American,  Marshall 
Jones:  19 19. 

Brooks,  C.  A.,  Christmn  Americanization,  Missionary 
Educ.  Society:  19 19. 

Butler,  F.  C,  Community  Americanization,  U.  S.  Bu- 
reau of  Education,  Bui.,  1919,  No.  80. 

Davis,  Philip,  compiler.  Immigration  and  Americani- 
zation, Ginn:   1920. 

Dixon,  Royal,  Americanization,  Macmillan  :  19 16. 

Fairchild,  H.  P.,  Immigration,  Macmillan:  1913. 

Fowler,  Jr.,  N.  C,  Hoiu  to  Obtain  Citizenship,  Sully 
and  Kleinteich :  1914. 


Selected  Readings  359 

Immigration  Commission,  Reports  of.  Vols.  29-33. 
Kellor,  Frances,  Straight  America,  Macmillan:  19 16. 
"Immigrants  in  America,   a  Domestic  Pol- 
icy," Immigrants  in  America  Rev.,  1 :  9-86. 

-''What  is  Americanization  ?"   Yale  Rev.,  8 : 


32-48. 

Lipsky,  Abrani,  'The  Political  Mind  of  Foreign-born 
Americans,"  Popular  Science  Mon.,  85 :  393-403. 

MacKaye,  Percy,  The  Immigrants,  lyric  drama, 
Hiiebsch :  191 5. 

Mann,  C.  R.,  The  American  Spirit  in  Education,  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Education,  BuL,  19 19,  No.  30. 

Mayo-Smith,  Richmond,  Emigration  and  Immigra- 
tion, Scribner:  191 2. 

Miniter,  Edith,  Our  Natupski  Neighbors,  Holt:  1916. 

Neumann,  Henry,  "Teaching  American  Ideals 
Through  Literature,"  Bui,  19 18,  No.  2,  Dept.  of 
the  Interior,   Washington. 

Ravage,  M.  E.,  An  American  in  the  Making,  Harper: 
1917. 

Read,  Elizabeth,  "The  Gentle  Art  of  Alienating  Im- 
migrants," Immigrants  in  America,  Rev.,  I:  70- 

79- 

Riis,  Jacob,  The  Making  of  an  American,  Macmillan: 
1901. 

Ripley,  William  Z.,  "Races  in  the  United  States,"  At- 
lantic Mon.,  102:  745-59. 

Roberts,  Peter,  The  New  Immigration,  Macmillan: 
1912. 

Rockow,  Lewis,  "Americanization  and  the  Pillar  of 
Democracy,"  Education,  37:  174-83. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  "Americanization  Day,"  Immi- 
grants in  Amer.,  Rev.,  I:  33-39. 


360  Americanhation 

Steiner,  E.  A.,  Nationalizing  America,  Revell :   1916. 
Introducing    the    American    Spirit,    Revell: 

1915- 

The  Broken  Wall,  Revell:  191 1. 

From  Alien  to  Citizen,  Revell:  19 14. 

On  the  Trail  of  the  Immigrant,  Revell :  1908. 

The  Immigrant  Tide,  Revell :  '1909. 

-Against  the  Current,  Revell:  19 10. 


Stern,  Elizabeth  G.,  My  Mother  and  I,  Macmillan: 
1917. 

Talbott,  Winthrop,  Americanization,  Wilson:    19 17. 

Tobenkin,  Elias,  Witte  Arrives,  Stokes:  1916. 

Warne,  F.  J.,  The  Tide  of  Immigration,  Appleton : 
1916. 

Woods,  R.  A.,  editor,  Americans  in  Process,  Hough- 
ton Mifflin :   1902. 

Zangwill,  Israel,  The  Melting  Pot,  Macmillan :  1909. 

13.     ENGLISH    AND    CIVICS    FOR    NEW 
AMERICANS 

(Chapters  XX,  XXI) 

Americanization  Conference,  Proceedings  of,  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Education:  1919. 

Austin,  Ruth,  Lessons  in  English  for  Foreign  Women, 
American  Book:  1913. 

Butler,  F.  C,  Commiinity  Americanization,  U.  S.  Bu- 
reau of  Education,  1919,  No.  80. 
State  Americanization,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ed- 
ucation, Bui.,  1919,  No.  81. 

Crist,  R.  E.,  Teachers'  Manual,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Nat- 
uralization, 19 18. 


Selected  Readings  361 

Students'  Textbook,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Natur- 
alization: 1918. 

Field  and  Coveney,  English  for  Neur  Americans,  Sil- 
ver, Burdett:  191 1. 

Fowler,  Jr.,  N.  C,  Hozv  to  Obtain  Citizenship,  Sully 
and  Kleinteich :  1914. 

Goldberger,  H.  H.,  English  for  Cominq  Citizens. 
Scribner:  1918. 

Teaching  English  to  the  Foreign-Born"  U. 

S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bui.,  1919,  No.  80. 

Gouin,  F.,  The  Art  of  Teaching  and  Studying  Lan- 
guages, Scribner:  1892. 

Houghton,  Frederick,  First  Lessons  in  English  for 
Foreigners,  American  Book:  191 1. 

Information  for  Immigrants,  Bulletin  of  Commission 
of  Immigration  and  Housing,  Sacramento,  Cali- 
fornia, 1920. 

Mahoney,  J.  J.,  and  C.  M.  Herlihy,  First  Steps  in 
Americanization,  Houghton  Mifflin:  19 18. 

Naturalization  Laws  and  Regulations,  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Naturalization. 

Price,  Isaac,  Direct  Method  of  Teaching  English  to 
Foreigners,  Beattys,  New  York:  1913. 

Roberts,  Peter,  Englffh  for  Coming  Americans,  Asso- 
ciation Press:  1909. 

Civics    for    Coming  Americans,  Association 

Press:  19 17. 

Webster,  H.  H.  Americanization  and  Citizenship, 
Houghton,  Mifflin:  1919. 


INDEX 


Abolitionists,  the,  55 
Abstract  rights,  34 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  S3 

Cited,  70 
Admission  standards,  immigrant, 

274 
Agricultural  survey,  need  of,  230 
Albanian  immigration,  188 
Alien  bill  of  1798,  267 
Alien  land  law,  the,  25,  21  Iff 
Alliances,  entangling,  70 
Amalgamation,  265 
America,  racially  heterogeneous, 

99 
America,  religious  movements 

in,  106 
American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers,  293 
American,  at  play,  251 

Average,  characterized,  the, 

97 
Boarding-boss  system,  240 
Co-operative  proclivity,  47 
Eagle,  emblem  of,  116 
Extravagance,  99  ff. 
Environment,  constructive 

influence  of,  295 
Federation  of  Labor,  4 
Flag,  symbolized,  48 
Homelessness,  104 
House,  254 

Ideals,  20,  26,41,50,  105,  279 
Ideals,  by  Addams,  Jane,  in 
1909,  332 
Brooks,  Phillips,  in  1880, 

325 
Bryan,  W.  J.,  in  1899,  329 
Dewey,  John,  in  1900,  330 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  in  1878, 
324 


Franklin,  Benjamin,  In 

1757,  303 
Giddings,  F.   H.,  in    1896, 

329 
Garrison,  W.  L.,  in   1840, 

316 
Henry,  Patrick,  in  1775, 

304 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  in  1776, 

306 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  in  1801, 

310 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  in  1858, 

318 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  in  1861, 

319 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  in  1863, 

320 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  in  1865, 

321 
Lowell,  J.  R.,  in  1884,  326 
Makers  of  Constitution,  in 

1787,  307 
Monroe,  J.,  in  1823,  312 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  in  1620, 

301 
Roosevelt,  Theodc -e,  in 

1905,  331 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  in 

1912,  333 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  in 

1915,  335 
Smith,  John,  in  1614,  300 
Taylor,  Bayard,  in  1876, 

322     ' 
Washington,  Booker  T.,  in 

1895,  327 
Washington,   George,  in 

1796,  308 
Webster,  Daniel,  in  1830, 

314 


3^4 


Americanization 


Whittier,   J.   G.,    in    1852, 

317 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  in  191S, 

334 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  in  1917, 

336 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  in  1918, 

1919,  337 
Winthrop,  John,  in  1635, 
302 

Indian,  the,  109 

Indian  Day,  117 

Individualist,  36 

Initiative,  38 

Inventiveness,  37  ff. 

Speed,  102 

Traits,  101  ff. 

World's  chief  pioneer,  the, 
characterized,  36  ff. 
Americanism,  defined,  17,  20,  26, 
29 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  contri- 
bution to,  35 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  con- 
tribution to,  42 

Military  preparedness,  in- 
terpretation of,  58 

Nature  of,  75,  92 

Revolutionary,  34 

Synonyms,  39 

Three  main  elements  of,  by 
Roosevelt,  58  ff. 
Americanization,  257 

Average  American,  of,  99 

Contributions  by  Scotch- 
Irish  to,  154  ff. 

Defined,  13,  17  ff.,  26,  98,  99, 
100,   105,  107,  280 

Englishmen's  part  in,  151  ff. 

Foreign-born,  of,  296 

Industrial  phases  of,  223 

Lecture  course  in,  292 

Methods,  45,  223 

Mexican  immigration  and, 
218,  220 

Mountaineer,  of,  145  ff. 

Movement,  14  ff.,  257 

Need  of,  280 


Negro,  of,  131  ff. 

Participants  in,  297' 

Process,  256 

Program,  29,  132,  150,  151, 
222 

Program  for  entire  family, 
need  of,  248 

Work  among  women,  288 
Americanization  Day  Plan,  274 
Annexation  of  Cuba,  71 
Anti-Chinese  activities,  205 
Antin,  Mary,  198 
Apartment-house  life,  evils  of,  105 
Appalachia,  22,  138 
Appalachia,  racial  stock  of  peo- 
ples, of,  138 
Armenian  immigrant,  the,  202 

At   home,   202 

Colonies  in  United  States,  203 
Armenia  under  Turkish  oppres- 
sion, 202 
Armistice,  reactionary  effects  of, 

60 
Armistice,  celebration  of,  102 
Articles  of  Confederation,  41 
Asiatic  immigrant,  the,  92,  201 
Assimilation,  defined,  265 
Assimilation  process,  the,  15,  23, 

265 
Austrian-Poland,  176 
Autocracy,  financial,  65 

Political,  65 

Prussian,  26 
Average  American,  the,  90  ff. 
Average  Italian,  racial  inheritance 
of,  168 


Barred  zone,  the,  270 
Barred  zone  provision,  204 
Beith,  Ian  Hay,  152 
Belgium  immigrants,  160  ff. 
Belgium  colonies  in  the  United 

States,  161 
Berea  College,  146 
Bible,  the,  cited,  30 
"Birth  of  a  Nation,"  129 


Index 


365 


Birth  rate  of  immigrants,  250 
Birth  rate  of  natives,  decline  of, 

261 
Boas,  Professor  F.,  262 
Bohemian,  ability  of  the,  83  ff. 

Colonies  in  United  States,  184 

Ideals,  183 
Bohemians,  the,  182 
Bosnians,  the,  185 
Boston,  racial  stock  of,  260  ff. 
Boy  Scout  movement,  255 
Brandeis,  Louis,  198 
Bruere,  Henry,  155 
Bryan,  W.  J.,  cited,  72 
Bryce,  James,  133 
Bulgarians,  the,  188 
Bureau  of  Americanization,  278 
Bureau  of  Immigration,  269,  274 
Business  prowess,  growth  of  mod- 
ern, 36 


Calhoun,  Thomas,  43 
California  Commission  of  Immi- 
gration  and    Housing,   re- 
port  of,  95,   275 
California  and  Japanese,  25 
Camp-fire  Girls,  255 
Canadian  immigration  law,  the, 

226 
Canning,  John,  53 
Cause  of  decline  in  American 

birth  rate,  261  «. 

Celtic  immigration,  152 
Census  of  1890  and  1910,  260 
Chinese  anti-,  activities,  205 
Assimilation  problem,  205 
Immigrants,  24 
Immigration,  83 
Migration,  204 
Opposed  by  organized  labor, 

205 
Population  in  United  States, 

decrease  of,  206 
Problem  in  United  States, 
206  ff. 
Christian  Americanization,  255 


Citizenship,  American  neglect  of, 
97 

Civil  War,  44 

"Clansman,  the,"  129 

Classification  of  Slavs  in  United 
States,  175 

Clay,  Henry,  44 

Cleveland,  Grover,  54,  71 

Collective  bargaining,  232,  235 

Colonists,  the,  110 

Columbus,  Christopher,  80 

Colored  race,  the,  22 

Commercialism,  92 

Commission  of  Indian  Affairs, 
policy  of,  112 

Community  Organization  move- 
ment, 61,  276 

Conciliation,  Commission  of,  72 

Condon,  R.  J.,  250 

Congressional  Immigration  Com- 
mittee of  1889,  report  of, 
269 

Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
preamble,  42 

Contract  labor,  268 

Contract  labor  law,  the,  225 

Contribution  of  English  colonists 
and  immigrants  to  Amer- 
ica, 149  ff. 

Co-operation,  religious,  46  ff. 
Spirit  of,  45,  48 
Strength  of,  47,  48 

Corollaries  of  Democracy,  279 

Courtesy,  lack  of,  in  the  United 
States,  96 

Crime,  relation  of,  to  immigra- 
tion, 246 

Croation,  the,  99,  185 

Czechs,  the,  182 

Czechoslovack,  Republic,  184 

Czechoslovack,  traits  of  the,  184 


Dalmatians,  the,    185 
Danish  immigrants,  the,  157 
Declaration  of  Independence,  34, 


55 


366 


Ainericani:zatioji 


Declaration  of  Independence,  sec- 
ond, 55 
Definition  of  Americanization,  13, 
17  ff.,  26,  98,  99,  100,  105, 
107 
Delft,  Haven,  30 
Democracy,  74,  93  ff. 
Basis  of,  56 
China,  in,  24 
Defined,   50 
Defined  by  Gifford  Pinchot, 

58 
Democratic,  61  ff. 
Ethical,  63 

Industrial,  61,  63,  65  ff. 
Intellectual,  64 
Jeffersonian,  52 
Lincoln,  of,  56 
Personal,  63  ff. 
Pilgrims,  of,  51 
Political,   61,   64 
Religious,  62 
Republican,  61  ff. 
Revolutionary  War  period, 

of,  51 
Social,  66  ff.,  257 
Spiritual,  67  ff. 
Democratic  Ideals,   50  ff.,   61 
Deportation,  right  of  in  United 

States,  268 
Destination  of  immigrants,  86 
de  Tocqueville,  Alexis,  111,  125 
DeWitt,  C.  C,  284 
DeWitt-Ford,  industrial  teaching 

plan,   286  ff. 
Diploma  plan  of  naturalization, 

273 
Divorce  rate,  increase  of,  104 
Dixon,  Royal,  cited,  57 
Doctrine,  Monroe,  70 
Daughters  of  American   Revolu- 
tion, work  of,  252 
DuBoise,  W.  E.  B.,  126,  128  ff. 
Dukhobors,  181 
Dutch  colonists,  80 
Dutch  influence  in  United  States, 

159  ff. 
Dutch  immigration,  159 


East  Indian,  the,  203 
Eastern  Asia  immigrants,  the,  201 
Eastman,  Charles  A.,  116 
Economic  autocracy,  Roosevelt's 

stand  against,  58 
Economic    prosperity    of    United 
States,   a  cause  of   immi- 
gration, 223 
Economic  system  of  United 

States,  remade,  241 
Edison,  Thomas  A.,  38 
Education  and  Americanism,  23 
Education  in  an  intellectual 

democracy,  65 
Education   phases    of   American- 
ization, 278  ff. 
Eisler,  George,  254 
Emancipation,  act  of,  65 
Emigration   from   United   States, 

87 
Emigration,  effects   of   industrial 

depression  on,  234 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  cited,  36, 

56,  73 
Employment  agencies,  232 
English  colonists,  80 

Influences  in  United   States, 

148  ff. 
Colonists  and  immigrants, 

contribution  of,  149  ff. 
Teaching  of,  to  foreign-born, 
283 
"English  First"  slogan,  282 
Englishmen's  part  in  Americani- 
zation movement,  151  ff. 
Entangling  alliances,  70 
Environment,  urban,  cause  of  de- 
linquency, 248 
Epithets,  immigration,   19 
Eugenics,   261 

European  immigrant,  north,  148 
European  immigrant,  south,  165 
Evils  resulting  from  irresponsible 

citizenship,    97 
Exploitations,  95 

Immigrants,  of,  227  ff. 


Index 


36 


Negroes,  of,  22 
Extravagance,  American,  99  ff. 


Factory  schools,  286 

Federal   Bureau  of  Immigration, 
276 

Federal  Bureau  of  Naturaliza- 
tion, 276 

Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ,  in  America,  47 
Department   of   Education, 

278 
Labor  Agencies,  232  ff.,  246 

Federalists,  the,  42 

Financial  autocracy,  65 

Finns,  the,   187 

Flag,  the  American,   74 

Ford,  Henry,  industrial  plan,  239 

Foreign-born,  the,  13  ff. 

Foreign-born  and  American 
ideals,   148 

Foreign-born,  leaders  of,  need  for, 
257 

Foreign  language  newspapers, 
293  ff. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  38 

Contribution  to  Americaniza- 
tion, 35 
Poor  Richard,  created  role 
of,  35 

Freight  car  housing  of  immU 
grants,  250 

French-Canadian  migration,  165 

French  colonists,  80 

French  immigration,  165 

French  influence  in  the  United 
States,  166 

French-Swiss  immigration,  168 

Friendship  of  the  World,   74 


Galacia,  176 

Gentlemen's  agreement,  210,  211 
German  autocracy,  94 
German  colonists,  81 


German  immigrants,  and  citizen- 
ship, 162 
Doctrine   of,    162 
Number  of,  162 
Old  and  new,  163 
Traits,   162 
German  migration  to  the  United 

States,    161 
German  settlements  in  the  United 

States,  161 
German-Swiss  immigration,  168 
Germany,   54 
Gettysburg  Speech,  56 
Great  Britain  and  Monroe  Doc- 
trine, 71 
Greek  contributions  to  the  United 
States,    173 
Immigrants,  171 
Loyalty  of,  173 
Settlements  in  United  States, 

171  ff. 
Traits,  171 
Gulick,  S.  L.,  214 

H 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  41,  42 

Hart,  Albert  Bushnell,  cited,  109 

Head  tax,  immigrant,  223 

Hebrew  immigrant,  the,  191 

Hebrew  language,  191 

Migration,  early,  of  the,  192 
Population  of  the  world,  191 
Population  of  New  York 
City,  191 

Henry,  Patrick,  cited,  32 

Herzegovinians,  the,  189 

Hill,  David  J.,  cited,  76 

Hindu,  eligibility  for  citizenship, 
204 
Immigrant,  the,  203 
Immigration  restricted,  203 
Migration,  203 

History  of  the  United  States, 
racial,   79 

Home,  decreasing  influence  of, 
104 

Home  teacher,  the,  288 


368 


Ainericanhation 


Homelessness,  American,  104 
Hoover,  Herbert,  cited,  45 
Housing  conditions  of  immi- 
grants, 249 
Howard,  George  E.,  cited,  130 
Huguenots,   165 
Humanity,   74 
Hus,  John,  183 
Hyphenated  Americans,  98 


I 


Idealism  in  the  United  States,  77 
Ideals,  American,  29,  64,  107,  299 
Illiteracy  in  the  United  States,  280 
Illiteracy  of  Immigrants,  23,  280 
Immigrant,  admission  require- 
ments, basis  of,  272 

Admission  standards,  274 

Appreciation  of  art,  256 

At  play,  the,  252 

Banking  problems  of,  239  ff. 

Educational  tests  of  1896,269 

Exploitation  of,  227 

Fraternal  organizations  of, 
252 

Head  tax,  223,  286 

Housing  conditions  of,  249 

Impressions  of  American  life, 
103 

Impressions  of  average  Amer- 
icans, 97 

Lack  of  control  over  chil- 
dren, 248 

Leisure  problem,  251 

Methods  of  finding  employ- 
ment, 232 

Occupation,  old  and  new, 
228  ff. 

Offenses  due  to  ignorance,  247 

Patriotism,  298 

Practice  of  sending  money 
home,  240 

Religion  of,  255 

South  European,  the,   165 

Test  of  admission  to  United 
States,  207,  213  ff. 

Thrift   of,   100 


Transportation  in  America, 
of,  245  ff . 
Immigration  Committee   Report, 

cited,   105 
Immigration  and  slums,  250,  256 
Immigration,  and  white  slave 
traffic,  248 

Effects  of  economic  prosper- 
ity, on,  223 

Effects  of,  on  wages,  233  ff. 

General  Federal  law  of  1882, 
269 

Halls,  need  of,  245 

Hindu,  restricted,  203 

In  1820,  82 

Irish,   154 

Labor  leaders  attitude  to- 
wards,  233 

Laws,  Canadian,  226 

Laws  of  1798,  267 

Laws  of  1820,  1864,  1875,  268 

Law  of  1917,  269 

Law,  unscientific  principle 
underlying,  271 

Needed  to  supply  farm  la- 
borers, 229  ff. 

Pauper,  268 

Relation  to  crime,  246 

Relation  to  Poverty,  246 

Scandinavian,  156 

Welfare  attitude,  effect  of, 
237  ff. 

Welfare  fostered  by  labor 
unions,  235 
Imperialism,  57 
Imperialistic  tendencies,  57 
Independence,  Declaration  of,  33, 

34 
Indians,  the,  21,  22,  79,  109 
Indian  Affairs  Commission,  policy 

of,  112 
Indian,  attitude  towards  the.  111 

Assimilative  program,  112 

Characteristics  of,  115  ff. 

Citizenship,  status  of,  113 

Education,  failure  of,  112  ff., 
114 

In  American  life,  121 


Index 


369 


Lack  of  confidence  in  the 

white  man,  114 
Leaders,  need  of,  114 
Names,  use  of,  115 
Retreat  of  the,  110 
Industrial  accidents  in  the  United 
States,  236 
Education  for  immigrants, 

236 
Depressions,  emigration  dur- 
ing, 234 
Order,  the  new,  241 
Phases  of  Americanization, 

223  ff. 
Problems  of  immigration,  231 
Survey,  need  of,   230 
Teaching,  286 
Ingenuity,  Yankee,  37 
Initiative,  nature  of,  29  ff, 
American,   38  ff, 
American,  criticism  of,  38 
American,  reward  of,  38,  39 
Individual,  35  ff, 
Interchurch  world  movement,  47 
Intermixture  of  races,  263 
International,   70  ff. 
International  friendship  of  United 

States  and  Canada,  151 
International  Institute  of  Y.  W. 

C.  A.,  253 
Inventions,  American,  37 
Irish,  ability  to  govern,  155  ff. 
Irish  immigration,  highest  point 
of,  154  « 

Traits,  155  ff. 
Italian-Swiss  immigration,  168 
Italian,  love  of  art,  170  ff. 
Traits,  170 


Jackson,  Helen  Hunt,  cited,  113 
James,  George  Wharton,  cited,  113 
Japan,  agricultural  pursuits  in, 
208 
Lack  of  natural  resources  in, 

207 
Population  of,  207 


Protest  against  anti- Japanese 

land  law,  211 
Japanese  adoption  of  American 

customs,  209 
Japanese,  and  the  Alien  Land 

Law,  211 
Attempt  to  segregate  in  San 

Francisco,  210 
Birth  rate  in  United  States, 

210 
Emigration,  209 
Home  customs  of  the,  208  ff. 
Immigrants,  the,  24,  25 

Number  of,  209 
Immigration,  85,  207,  209, 

215 
Legislation  against,  211 
Occupation  in  the  United 

States,  209 
Picture  brides,  209  ff. 
Problems  214 
Situation  in  United  States, 

212  ff, 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  41,  43 

cited,  33,  52,  70 
Jewish  immigrants,  198  ff. 
Jewish  immigration,  83 
Jews,  Americanization  among 

the,  199 
Attitude  towards  Christian- 
ity, 194 
de-Judaizing  of,  195 
Emancipated  by  capitalism. 
Expulsion  from  European 

countries,  193 
Influence  on   European   and 

American  progress,  196 
Intellectual  ability  of,  195 
Loyalty  to  Judaism,  194 
Migration   of,    194 
Occupation  in  United  States, 

198  ff. 
Orthodox,  197 
Russian-Polish,  194 
Takers  of  Usury,  193 
Traits,  196  ff. 
Settlement  of,  in  United 

States,  198 


3/0 


mcncanization 


Under  feudalism,   193 
Johnson,  Hiram,  211 
Johnson,  James  W.,  133 
Judaized  Russians,   181 
Jugo-slavia,  195 
Jugo-slavs,  185 
Justice,  national,  71 

K 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  55 

Kelso,  C.  C,  273 

Kephart,  Horace,  cited,  138,  143 

Kindergarten,  American,  signifi- 
cance of,  289 

Klingberg,  Elizabeth  W.,  cited, 
139  ff. 

Kosciuszko,   178 


Labor   turnover,   238  ff. 
Labor  unions,  essential  to  welfare 
of  immigrants,  235 
Instructor  in  democracy,  235 
Relation  of,  to  immigration, 
234 
Lafayette,  33 

Laissez  faire,  social  philosophy,  48 
Land  law,  the  alien,  25 
Language,  significance,  281 
Leadership,  foreign-born,  257 
Leading  media  of  sound  Ameri- 
canism, 279 
League  to  Enforce  Peace,  72 
League  of  Nations,   72,  76 
Leisure  problem,  immigrants,  251 
Legislation  against  Japanese,  210 
Letts,  the,  187 

Liberty,  American  criticism  of,  38 
Defined  by  Patrick  Henry,  33 
Defined   by   Thomas    Jeffer- 
son, 33 
Democratic  necessity,  44 
Individual,  41,  43,  45,  61 
Individual,  beginning  of,  35, 

38 
Industrial,  35 


Nature   of,    29ff 

Personal,  63 

Revolutionary,  defined,  34 
Liberty  Bell,  39 
Liberty  Bell,  inscription  on,  32 
Liberty,   Goddess   of,   39 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  cited,  37,  44, 

45 
Literary  tests  for  immigrants,  270 
Lithuanian,  the,  186ff 
Lithuanian  migration,  187 
Little  Russians,  the,  181 
Locke,  John,  "Treatise  on  Gov- 
ernment," 51 
Lodge,  H.  C.,  cited,  42 
Love,  power  of,  67 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  cited,  63, 

93 
Loyalties,  14,  26,  45 
Lynching,  negro,  133 


M 


Magna  Charta,  53 
Magyars,  the,  186 
Magyarization,  282 
Marriage,  respect  for  sanctity  of, 

104 
Martin,  the  Armenian,  202 
Materialism,  57,  96 
Materialistic  power,  apex  of,  57 
Mayflower  and  Americanization, 

30 
Mayflower  compact,  20 
Melting  pot,  the,  IS,  45 
Men  and  religion,  forward  move- 
ment, 47 
Methods    of   teaching    a    foreign 

language,   283 
Mexican,   the,   and  Americaniza- 
tion, 218 
Americanization  of,  220 
Housing  problem  in  Los  An- 
geles, 219ff 
Immigrants,  25,  217 
Immigrant  traits,  220 
Immigration,  85,  218 
Peon,  217 


Index 


37 


Population  in  United  States, 
217 
Potentialities,  221 
Mexico,  54 

Mexico,  social  classes  in,  218 
Might  versus  right,  34 
Migration  of  Hebrews,  192 
Migrations  of  Syrians  to  United 

States,  201 
Military  preparedness,  58 
Molokans,  the,  181 
Moravians,  the,  192 
Monroe  Doctrine,  the,  53,  54,  70 
Monroe,  James,  cited,  52,  53,  70 
Montenegrins,  the,  185 
Morals,  double  standard  of,  104 
Morality,  Puritan,  31 
Morse,  John  T.  Jr.,  cited,  35 
Motion  picture,  an  Americaniza- 
tion factor,  290 
Mound-builders,  79 
Mountaineer,  the,  22,  92 

Advanced  Appalachian,  139 

Americanization  of,  145ff 

Appalachia,  138 

Classes  of  Appalachian,  139 

Conception  of  the  country  at 
large,  141  ff 

Degenerate  Appalachians,  139 

Exploitation  of  home  land, 
of,  143 

Feuds,  142ff 

Geographical  distributiqn  of, 
138 

Hospitality  of,  145 

Life  of  Appalachian,  140  ff. 

Love  of  liberty,  142 

Loyalty  of,  146 

Normal  Appalachian,  139 

Old   English   vocabulary   of, 
145 

Population  in  United  States, 
138 

Religion  of,  141 

Social  standards  of,  142 
Muckraking,  57 
Municipal  labor  agencies,  232 


N 


National  ideals,  29 
Justice,  71 
Purposes,  21,  26 

Nationalism,  42 

Nations,  League  of,  73 

Native  American  movement,  268 

Native    American,    undemocratic, 
278 

Native-born,  the,   13ff 

Naturalization,  15,  16 

Diploma  plan  of,  293 
Laws  of  1790,  1870,  272 
Law,  weakness  of,  273 

Negro,  the,  22,  55,   110 

Advancement  of  the,   123ff 
Americanization  program, 

132ff 
And     the     14th     and     15th 

amendments,  126 
Attitudes,  134 

Environment    under    Ameri- 
can slavery,  12  Off 
Illiteracy,    122 
In  American  life,  121 
Individuality  suppressed,  121 
In  World  War,  126,  133 
Loyalty,  132 

Low  moral  standards  of,  124 
Migration,  125 
Population,  increase  of,  122 
Problem  in  United  States,  130 
Racial  origin  of,  120 
Rights  of  suffrage,  122 
Southern    hostility    towards, 

129 
Suffrage,  131 
Traits,   134ff 

Neighborhood  schools,  289 

Night  schools,  286 

Night  school  teachers,  285 

North  Italian  immigrant,  the,  169 

Nurse,   public   health,   work   of, 
250ff 


Z7^ 


America}}  i.zafion 


Occupational  diseases,  238 
Occupation  of  old  and  new  im- 
migrants, 238ff 


Padrone  system,  the,  232 
Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  129 
Panic  of  1873,  56 
Partisanship,   evils    of  American, 

99 
Patriotism,  57 
Patriotism,  immigrant,  98 
Paulson,  Nils,  158 
Pauper  immigration,  268 
Peace,  League  to  Enforce,  72 
Peace,  love  of,  75 
Phonograph    in    Americanization 

work,   290 
Picture  brides,  Japanese,  210 
Pilgrims,  30,  110 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  50,  105 
Pinchot,  Gifford,  45,  58 
Poland,  the  tragedies  of,  I75ff 

And  Russian  autocracy,  176 

At  the  close  of  the  war  in 
1918,   178 
Poles,  distribution  of,  in  the 

United  States,   179 
Poles  in  American  Expeditionary 

Forces,  179 
Polish  independence  of  1918,  176 

Traits,  178  ff. 

Spirit,  178 
Political  assimilation,  267 

Autocracy,    65 

Phases   of  Americanization, 
267 

Proceedure,  62 
Poor  Richard,  teachings  of,  35 
Portuguese  immigration,  167 

Settlements  in  the  United 
States,  167 

Standard  of  living,  167 
Potato  family  in  Ireland,  82,  164 
Potential  equality  of  races,  262 


Poverty,  a  social  problem  of 
United  States,  246 

Poverty,  relation  to  immigration, 
246 

Principles  of  industrial  democ- 
racy, 65 

Process  of  assimilating  Italians, 
171 

Profiteering,   21,   98 

Program  of  Americanization,  29 

Prohibition  movement,  57 

Protectorate,  political,  70 

Protestant  reformers,  50 

Prussian  autocracy,  26 

Prussian  Poland,  177 

Prussianization,   282 

Public  Library,  as  an  Americani- 
zation institution,  294 

Public  health  nurse,  work  of,  252 

Public  school  as  a  democratic 
institution,    65 

Public  welfare,  lack  of  interest 
in,  98 

Puritans,  30 

Puritan  morality,  30 

Purposes,  national,  20,  21,  26 


Race  admixture,  263 
Cliquishness,   264 
Isolation,  264 
Restriction  of  immigration 

principles,  271 
Prejudice,  130,  133,  263,  296 
Problems,  22 
Racial  differences,  262 

Heterogeneity  of  United 

States,  260 
History  of  United  States,  79 
Phases   of   Americanization, 

260  ff. 
Segregation  in  public  schools, 

291 
Theory  of  Professor  Franz 
Boas,  262 
Ravage,  M.  E.,  cited,  198,  245 
Religion  and  the  immigrant,  245 


Index 


373 


Religion,  in  American  life,  105 
Force  in  Americanization,  a, 
295 

Restriction  of  immigration,  88 

Revolution,  political,  in  Ger- 
many, 82 

Richard,  Poor,  teachings,  of,  35 

Right's,  abstract,  34    * 

Right  versus  might,  34 

Riis,   Jacob,   158 

Roberts,  Dr.  Peter,   171,  284 

Robinson,  John,  30 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  20,  37,  38, 
45,  58,  71,  97,  279 
Knights  of  Columbus  speech, 
cited,  59 

Root,  Elihu,  cited,  57 

Rousseau,  51 

Rumanians,  the,  188 

Russian  immigrants  in  the  United 
States,  classes  of,  180 

Russian-Poland,   178 

Russian  types  in  United  States, 
180 

Russianization,  282 


Sailing  vessels  and  immigration, 

83 
Scandinavian,  explorers,  80 

Immigration,  156 

Traits,   157  ff. 
Scherer,  James  A.  B.,  cited,  M2 
Schurz,  Carl,  162 
Scotch   immigration,   153  ff. 
Scotch-Irish,  153 
Scotch-Irish  colonies,  81 
Scott,  Dred,  decision,  55 
Serbians,  the,  185 
Sex  divisions  of  immigrants,  86 
Sex  relations,  illicit,  263 
Sicilian  immigrant,  the,  169 
Sigourney,  Lydia  Huntley,  117 
Simkhovitch,  Mrs.  Mary  K.,  98 
Shop  management,  236 
Slavery,  individual,  43 
Slavery,  in  days  of  Monroe,  5'4 


Slavic  immigrant,  the,  175 

Slavs  in  United  States,  classifica- 
tion of,  175 

Slovenians,   185 

Slavonians,   185 

Slums,  250,  256 

Smith,  Captain  John,  279 

Snobbishness,  American,  93 

Social  agencies,  257 

Attitude  of  employer,  need 

of,  236 
Evil,  104 
Phases   of  Americanization, 

244 
Settlements,  Americanization 
work  of,  253 

Sons  of  American  Revolution, 252 

South  European  immigrant,  the, 
165 

South  Italian  immigration,  169 

Spain,  war  with,  71 

Spanish  immigration,  166 

Spanish  war,  57 

Speed,   American,    100  ff. 

State  labor  agencies,  232 

States'  rights,  43,  44 

Steerage,  new  conditions  in,  244 

Steerage,  old  type,  244 

Stereopticon,  an  Americanization 
factor,  289 

Stidger,  W.  L.,  cited,  67  ff. 

Steiner,  E.  A.,  115,  198 

Swedish  colonists,  81 

Swedish  contributions  to  Ameri- 
can life,  158 

Subotniks,  the,  181 

Swiss  immigration,  167 

Syrian  immigrant,  the,  201 


Taft,  W.  H.,  72 

Tarkington,  Booth,  102 

Teaching  of  a   foreign  language, 
methods,  283 

Teachers  training  course  in  Am- 
ericanization, 291 

Test   for  admission  to  United 
States,  immigrant,  207,  213 


374 


Aniericani^iiation 


Thrift  of  immigrant,  100 
Traits,  American,  100  ff. 
Turkey,  25 
Types  of  Americans,  91 

U 

Ukraine,  established  as  a  republic, 

182 
Ukrainians,  the,  181 
Ukrainian   colonics   in   United 

States,  182 
Ulstermen,  153  ff. 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  130 
Unified  States,  26 
Union,  the,  45 

Democratic  necessity,  44 
Hamilton's  idea  of,  41,  42 
Spirit  of,  48 
Strength  of,  42 
Struggle  in  behalf  of,  43 
Support  of  liberty,  a,  41,  44 
United  States  Food  Administra- 
tion, 46 
Urban  environment,  a  cause  of 

delinquency,  248 
Utilitarianism  in  the  United 
States,  77 


Washington,  Booker  T.,  statement 

of  Negro  problem,  127  ff. 
Washington,  George,  cited,  38,  41, 

43,  70,   106,   111 
Generalship  of,  34 
Watchwords   by    Patrick    Henry, 

32 
Webster,  Daniel,  32  ff. 
Welfare  of  immigrant  attitude, 

•   effect  of,  237  ff. 
Welfare  of  labor,  importance  of, 

236 
Welsh  immigration,  52  ff. 
West,  opening  of,  83 
Western  Asia  immigrant,  the,  201 
Westward  movement,  56 
Whipple,  Bishop  H.  B.,  116 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  38,  51,  59, 

211,  275 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  cited,  20,  59, 

72,   93,    133 
Women  suffrage  in  New  York,  2 75 
Woman  suffrage  movement,  61 
Workman's  compensation, 

principle  of,  238 
World  War,  the,  21,  23,  25,  98 
World  War,  entrance  of  United 


Virginia  colonists,  the,  30 
Vocational  guidance  for  immi- 
grants, 234 
Voter,  the  average,  98 

W 

Walker,  General  Francis  A,  261 
Washington,  Booker  T.,  126 


Yiddish,  191 

Yankee  ingenuity,  37 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 47,  254,  292 

Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, 47,  253 


Zangwill,  Izreal,  cited,   IS 
Zionists,  the,  197  ff. 


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